T1- and T2-weighted MRI signal and histology findings in suboptimally fixed human brains.

Neuroscientific research that requires brain tissue depends on brain banks that provide very small tissue samples fixed by immersion in neutral-buffered formalin (NBF), while anatomy laboratories could provide full brain specimens. However, these brains are generally fixed by perfusion of the full body with solutions other than NBF generally used by brain banks, such as an alcohol-formaldehyde solution (AFS) that is typically used for dissection and teaching. Therefore, fixation quality of these brains needs to be assessed to determine their usefulness in post-mortem investigations through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histology, two common neuroimaging modalities.

Evaluation of the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) sequence with 3 Tesla device in renal transplant patients in the assessment of early allograft disfunction, correlated with biopsy.

Objective: To evaluate the ability of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla to measure tissue oxygen bioavailability based on R2* values, and to differentiate between acute tubular necrosis and acute rejection compared to renal biopsy (gold standard).

Methods: A prospective, single-center study, with patients submitted to renal transplantation between 2013 and 2014, who developed graft dysfunction less than 4 weeks after transplantation. All patients were submitted to abdominal magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla using the same protocol, followed by two BOLD sequences and kidney biopsy.

COVID-19 information exposure in digital media and implications for employees in the health care sector: findings from an online survey.

Objective: To estimate coronavirus disease 2019-related information consumption and related implications for health care professionals (medical and nonmedical personnel) during the pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional on-line survey was distributed to employees of a major health care institution located in São Paulo, Brazil between April 3 and April 10, 2020. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Chronic low back pain and sick-leave: a functional magnetic resonance study.

Background: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) represents a problem in the occupational environment, often associated with disability, sick-leave demands, loss of productivity, anxiety, depression and high socioeconomic cost. The emergence of functional neuroimaging allowed new insights into brain structure and physiology in normality and chronic pain. While occupational related aspects are recognized as important risk factors for chronicity there have not been thus far evaluated by fMRI experiments.

Brain white matter microstructure in obese women with binge eating disorder.

Objective: Research on potential brain circuit abnormalities in binge eating disorder (BED) is limited. Here, we assess white matter (WM) microstructure in obese women with BED.

Method: Diffusion tensor imaging data were acquired, and tract-based spatial statistics used to examine WM in women with BED who were obese (n = 17) compared to normal-weight (NWC) (n = 17) and to women who were obese (OBC) (n = 13).

Structural Analysis of Glaucoma Brain and its Association With Ocular Parameters.

Precis: Glaucoma patients presented a decreased occipital pole surface area in both hemispheres. Moreover, these parameters are independently correlated with functional and structural ocular parameters.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate structural brain abnormalities in glaucoma patients using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging and assess their correlation with associated structural and functional ocular findings.

Meditation training increases brain efficiency in an attention task.

Meditation is a mental training, which involves attention and the ability to maintain focus on a particular object. In this study we have applied a specific attentional task to simply measure the performance of the participants with different levels of meditation experience, rather than evaluating meditation practice per se or task performance during meditation. Our objective was to evaluate the performance of regular meditators and non-meditators during an fMRI adapted Stroop Word-Colour Task (SWCT), which requires attention and impulse control, using a block design paradigm.