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Research investigating the effects of trauma exposure on brain structure and function in adults has mainly focused on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), whereas trauma-exposed individuals without a clinical diagnoses often serve as controls. However, this assumes a dichotomy between clinical and subclinical populations that may not be supported at the neural level. In the current study we investigate whether the effects of repeated or long-term stress exposure on brain structure in a subclinical sample are similar to previous PTSD neuroimaging findings. We assessed 27 combat trauma-exposed individuals by means of whole-brain voxel-based morphometry on 3 T magnetic resonance imaging scans and identified a negative association between duration of military deployment and gray matter volumes in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). We also found a negative relationship between deployment-related gray matter volumes and psychological symptoms, but not between military deployment and psychological symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first whole-brain analysis showing that longer military deployment is associated with smaller regional brain volumes in combat-exposed individuals without PTSD. Notably, the observed gray matter associations resemble those previously identified in PTSD populations, and concern regions involved in emotional regulation and fear extinction. These findings question the current dichotomy between clinical and subclinical populations in PTSD neuroimaging research. Instead, neural correlates of both stress exposure and PTSD symptomatology may be more meaningfully investigated at a continuous level.

41 Pags.- 3 Tabls.- 11 Figs. The definitive version is available at: https://link.springer.com/journal/271 ; More than one million hectares have undergone irrigation modernization in Spain during this century. Irrigation modernization to pressurized systems is currently facing challenges derived from increasing electricity prices and decreasing public subsidies. The economic viability of such projects is compromised, and the number of projects is decreasing. Pressurized collective networks are commonly designed and managed using hydraulic simulation tools and probabilistic hypotheses on hydrant use. In this paper, a simulation tool is presented that widens the scope of the analysis by combining hydraulics with agronomy, agrometeorology, solid-set sprinkler irrigation and economics. The CINTEGRAL software simulates the net benefit of the seasonal operation of a collective pressurized irrigation network. The software incorporates an optimization module for the electricity contract associated with the pumping station. CINTEGRAL runs on a time step of a half-hour, and simulates the irrigation season of a variety of crops. The software was applied to analyze the economic benefit of a Water User Association (WUA) under different design and management scenarios (on-demand, network sectoring and dividing the irrigated area in separate networks). In the studied WUA, the network sectoring scenario provided important energy savings (22%) but negatively affected yield by a similar economic magnitude. The division of the area in two independent networks was the most cost-effective scenario. Network topologies, cropping patterns, market prices, irrigation infrastructure, soil conditions and management rules determine the optimum WUA management options. CINTEGRAL is a comprehensive simulation tool designed to help designers and managers guarantee the economic viability of their projects. ; Research was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of the Spanish Government (Plan Estatal de I + D+i) through Grant AGL2013-48728-C2-1-R. The International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies of Zaragoza (CIHEAM-Zaragoza) provided an M. Sc. scholarship to Mr. El Habib El Malki. ; Peer reviewed

Postoperative cognitive impairment is among the most common medical complications associated with surgical interventions - particularly in elderly patients. In our aging society, it is an urgent medical need to determine preoperative individual risk prediction to allow more accurate cost-benefit decisions prior to elective surgeries. So far, risk prediction is mainly based on clinical parameters. However, these parameters only give a rough estimate of the individual risk. At present, there are no molecular or neuroimaging biomarkers available to improve risk prediction and little is known about the etiology and pathophysiology of this clinical condition. In this short review, we summarize the current state of knowledge and briefly present the recently started BioCog project (Biomarker Development for Postoperative Cognitive Impairment in the Elderly), which is funded by the European Union. It is the goal of this research and development (R&D) project, which involves academic and industry partners throughout Europe, to deliver a multivariate algorithm based on clinical assessments as well as molecular and neuroimaging biomarkers to overcome the currently unsatisfying situation. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.