Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging-based identification of altered brain the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation in adolescent major depressive disorder patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy

Data for the causes of maternal deaths are needed to inform policies to improve maternal health. We developed and analysed global, regional, and subregional estimates of the causes of maternal death during 2003-09, with a novel method, updating the previous WHO systematic review. We searched specialised and general bibliographic databases for articles published between between Jan 1, 2003, and Dec 31, 2012, for research data, with no language restrictions, and the WHO mortality database for vital registration data. On the basis of prespecified inclusion criteria, we analysed causes of maternal death from datasets. We aggregated country level estimates to report estimates of causes of death by Millennium Development Goal regions and worldwide, for main and subcauses of death categories with a Bayesian hierarchical model. We identified 23 eligible studies (published 2003-12). We included 417 datasets from 115 countries comprising 60 799 deaths in the analysis. About 73% (1 771 000 of 2 443 000) of all maternal deaths between 2003 and 2009 were due to direct obstetric causes and deaths due to indirect causes accounted for 27·5% (672 000, 95% UI 19·7-37·5) of all deaths. Haemorrhage accounted for 27·1% (661 000, 19·9-36·2), hypertensive disorders 14·0% (343 000, 11·1-17·4), and sepsis 10·7% (261 000, 5·9-18·6) of maternal deaths. The rest of deaths were due to abortion (7·9% [193 000], 4·7-13·2), embolism (3·2% [78 000], 1·8-5·5), and all other direct causes of death (9·6% [235 000], 6·5-14·3). Regional estimates varied substantially. Between 2003 and 2009, haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders, and sepsis were responsible for more than half of maternal deaths worldwide. More than a quarter of deaths were attributable to indirect causes. These analyses should inform the prioritisation of health policies, programmes, and funding to reduce maternal deaths at regional and global levels. Further efforts are needed to improve the availability and quality of data related to maternal mortality. © 2014 World Health Organization; licensee Elsevier. This is an Open Access article published without any waiver of WHO's privileges and immunities under international law, convention, or agreement. This article should not be reproduced for use in association with the promotion of commercial products, services, or any legal entity. There should be no suggestion that WHO endorses any specific organisation or products. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. This notice should be preserved along with the article's original URL. Show more

Brain imaging efforts are being increasingly devoted to decode the functioning of the human brain. Among neuroimaging techniques, resting-state fMRI (R-fMRI) is currently expanding exponentially. Beyond the general neuroimaging analysis packages (e.g., SPM, AFNI and FSL), REST and DPARSF were developed to meet the increasing need of user-friendly toolboxes for R-fMRI data processing. To address recently identified methodological challenges of R-fMRI, we introduce the newly developed toolbox, DPABI, which was evolved from REST and DPARSF. DPABI incorporates recent research advances on head motion control and measurement standardization, thus allowing users to evaluate results using stringent control strategies. DPABI also emphasizes test-retest reliability and quality control of data processing. Furthermore, DPABI provides a user-friendly pipeline analysis toolkit for rat/monkey R-fMRI data analysis to reflect the rapid advances in animal imaging. In addition, DPABI includes preprocessing modules for task-based fMRI, voxel-based morphometry analysis, statistical analysis and results viewing. DPABI is designed to make data analysis require fewer manual operations, be less time-consuming, have a lower skill requirement, a smaller risk of inadvertent mistakes, and be more comparable across studies. We anticipate this open-source toolbox will assist novices and expert users alike and continue to support advancing R-fMRI methodology and its application to clinical translational studies. Show more

In children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), functional neuroimaging studies have revealed abnormalities in various brain regions, including prefrontal-striatal circuit, cerebellum, and brainstem. In the current study, we used a new marker of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), amplitude of low-frequency (0.01-0.08Hz) fluctuation (ALFF) to investigate the baseline brain function of this disorder. Thirteen boys with ADHD (13.0+/-1.4 years) were examined by resting-state fMRI and compared with age-matched controls. As a result, we found that patients with ADHD had decreased ALFF in the right inferior frontal cortex, [corrected] and bilateral cerebellum and the vermis as well as increased ALFF in the right anterior cingulated cortex, left sensorimotor cortex, and bilateral brainstem. This resting-state fMRI study suggests that the changed spontaneous neuronal activity of these regions may be implicated in the underlying pathophysiology in children with ADHD. Show more