Psychomotor slowing in schizophrenia is associated with aberrant postural control.

Motor abnormalities, including psychomotor slowing, are prevalent in a large proportion of individuals with schizophrenia. While postural control deficits have been observed in this population, the impact of motor abnormalities on postural stability remains unclear. This study aimed to objectively evaluate postural stability in patients with and without psychomotor slowing and healthy controls.

Functional and structural cerebellar-behavior relationships in aging.

Healthy aging is associated with deficits in cognitive performance and brain changes, including in the cerebellum. Cerebellar communication with the cortex via closed-loop circuits through the thalamus have been established and these circuits are closely related to the functional topography of the cerebellum. In this study, we sought to elucidate relationships between cerebellar structure and function with cognition in healthy aging.

Sunlight-activated composite TiO-F-V-Mo materials for photodegradation of the organic pollutant methylene blue.

F-doped TiO photocatalyst materials were prepared using solid-state and sol-gel synthesis with varying weight percentages of LiF or NHF. Subsequently, molybdate and vanadium oxide were added to the prepared powders to create composite photocatalysts with reduced bandgap energy, enhancing light absorption in the visible region of the spectrum, which is essential for effective photocatalytic activity using sunlight. The synthesized powders were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and specific surface area using the BET method.

Relationships of functional connectivity of motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex, and cerebellum to balance performance in middle-aged and older adults.

Connectivity of somatosensory cortex (S1) and cerebellum with the motor cortex (M1) is critical for balance control. While both S1-M1 and cerebellar-M1 connections are affected with aging, the implications of altered connectivity for balance control are not known. We investigated the relationship between S1-M1 and cerebellar-M1 connectivity and standing balance in middle-aged and older adults.