MAPSeg: Unified Unsupervised Domain Adaptation for Heterogeneous Medical Image Segmentation Based on 3D Masked Autoencoding and Pseudo-Labeling.

Robust segmentation is critical for deriving quantitative measures from large-scale, multi-center, and longitudinal medical scans. Manually annotating medical scans, however, is expensive and labor-intensive and may not always be available in every domain. Unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) is a well-studied technique that alleviates this label-scarcity problem by leveraging available labels from another domain.

C-reactive protein across pregnancy in individuals exposed to childhood maltreatment: The role of psychological and physical sequelae of maltreatment.

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) has long-term consequences for the regulation of stress biology which are particularly pronounced when mental and physical health sequelae have manifested. C-reactive protein (CRP) has been shown to be elevated in the non-pregnant state in association with CM as well as in the setting of CM-associated mental and physical health sequelae. In pregnancy, however, the association between CM and CRP is less clear.

Associations of radiologic characteristics of the neonatal hypothalamus with early life adiposity gain.

Background: The mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH) is a key brain area for regulation of energy balance. Previous neuroimaging studies suggest that T2-based signal properties indicative of cellular inflammatory response (gliosis) are present in adults and children with obesity, and predicts greater adiposity gain in children at risk of obesity.

Objectives/methods: The current study aimed to extend this concept to the early life period by considering if, in full-term healthy neonates (up to n = 35), MRI evidence of MBH gliosis is associated with changes in early life (neonatal to six months) body fat percentage measured by DXA.

Segmenting hypothalamic subunits in human newborn magnetic resonance imaging data.

Preclinical evidence suggests that inter-individual variation in the structure of the hypothalamus at birth is associated with variation in the intrauterine environment, with downstream implications for future disease susceptibility. However, scientific advancement in humans is limited by a lack of validated methods for the automatic segmentation of the newborn hypothalamus. N = 215 healthy full-term infants with paired T1-/T2-weighted MR images across four sites were considered for primary analyses (mean postmenstrual age = 44.

A global multicohort study to map subcortical brain development and cognition in infancy and early childhood.

The human brain grows quickly during infancy and early childhood, but factors influencing brain maturation in this period remain poorly understood. To address this gap, we harmonized data from eight diverse cohorts, creating one of the largest pediatric neuroimaging datasets to date focused on birth to 6 years of age. We mapped the developmental trajectory of intracranial and subcortical volumes in ∼2,000 children and studied how sociodemographic factors and adverse birth outcomes influence brain structure and cognition.

Gestational and postnatal age associations for striatal tissue iron deposition in early infancy.

Striatal development is crucial for later motor, cognitive, and reward behavior, but age-related change in striatal physiology during the neonatal period remains understudied. An MRI-based measure of tissue iron deposition, T2*, is a non-invasive way to probe striatal physiology neonatally, linked to dopaminergic processing and cognition in children and adults. Striatal subregions have distinct functions that may come online at different time periods in early life.

Gestational and postnatal age associations for striatal tissue iron deposition in early infancy.

Unlabelled: Striatal development is crucial for later motor, cognitive, and reward behavior, but age-related change in striatal physiology during the neonatal period remains understudied. An MRI-based measure of tissue iron deposition, T2*, is a non-invasive way to probe striatal physiology neonatally, linked to dopaminergic processing and cognition in children and adults. Striatal subregions have distinct functions that may come online at different time periods in early life.

Maximal telomerase activity capacity (mTAC) underlies the link between the cortisol response to stress and telomere length.

Exposure to various forms of stress has been associated with shorter telomere length (TL). However, the molecular underpinnings of this effect are poorly understood. Based on an understanding of the key role of the reverse transcriptase enzyme telomerase in regulating TL, and building upon our previous work in developing and validating a biomarker of the capacity of cells to express telomerase (maximal telomerase activity capacity (mTAC)), we examine here the hypotheses that mTAC is positively associated with TL and that the effect of stress on TL is mediated by individual differences in mTAC.

Intergenerational transmission of the effects of maternal exposure to childhood maltreatment in the USA: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Childhood maltreatment is associated with adverse health outcomes and this risk can be transmitted to the next generation. We aimed to investigate the association between exposure to maternal childhood maltreatment and common childhood physical and mental health problems, neurodevelopmental disorders, and related comorbidity patterns in offspring.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, which was launched to investigate the influence of early life exposures on child health and development in 69 cohorts across the USA.

Maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index is associated with newborn offspring hypothalamic mean diffusivity: a prospective dual-cohort study.

Background: An extensive body of animal literature supports the premise that maternal obesity during pregnancy can alter the development of the fetal hypothalamus (HTH, a critical regulator of energy balance) with implications for offspring obesity risk (i.e., long-term energy imbalance).

Maternal insulin resistance in pregnancy is associated with fetal fat deposition: findings from a longitudinal study.

Background: Newborns exhibit substantial variation in fat mass accretion over gestation. These individual differences in newborn adiposity extend into infancy and childhood and relate to subsequent risk of obesity and metabolic dysregulation. Maternal glucose homeostasis in pregnancy has been proposed as an underlying mechanism; however, the timing in gestation when maternal glucose regulation influences the progression of fetal fat deposition remain unclear.

Early development of negative and positive affect: Implications for ADHD symptomatology across three birth cohorts.

High levels of early emotionality (of either negative or positive valence) are hypothesized to be important precursors to early psychopathology, with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) a prime early target. The positive and negative affect domains are prime examples of Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) concepts that may enrich a multilevel mechanistic map of psychopathology risk. Utilizing both variable-centered and person-centered approaches, the current study examined whether levels and trajectories of infant negative and positive emotionality, considered either in isolation or together, predicted children's ADHD symptoms at 4 to 8 years of age.

Maternal free fatty acid concentration during pregnancy is associated with newborn hypothalamic microstructure in humans.

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis, in a prospective cohort study design, that maternal saturated free fatty acid (sFFA) concentration during pregnancy is prospectively associated with offspring (newborn) hypothalamic (HTH) microstructure and to explore the functional relevance of this association with respect to early-childhood body fat percentage (BF%).

Methods: In N = 94 healthy newborns (born mean 39.3 [SD 1.

Transmission of the adverse consequences of childhood maltreatment across generations: Focus on gestational biology.

Childhood maltreatment (CM) has well-established consequences for the mental and physical health of the exposed individual. Accumulating evidence now suggests that the detrimental sequelae of CM may be transmitted from one generation to the next, thereby extending the long-term ramifications of early adverse experiences and constituting intergenerational continuity in poor health outcomes. In this review, the current state of knowledge on the intergenerational effects of maternal exposure to CM is summarized and transmission pathways are discussed, specifically direct as well as indirect pathways involving variation in gestational biology.

Exposure to childhood maltreatment and systemic inflammation across pregnancy: The moderating role of depressive symptomatology.

Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) has long-term consequences for dysregulation of the immune system which is particularly pronounced when mental and physical health sequelae have manifested. Higher proinflammatory state has been shown in non-pregnant state in association with CM as well as with depression, one of the most frequent and pernicious psychiatric sequelae of CM. During pregnancy, however, this association is less clear.

Fetal programming of human energy homeostasis brain networks: Issues and considerations.

In this paper, we present a transdisciplinary framework and testable hypotheses regarding the process of fetal programming of energy homeostasis brain circuitry. Our model proposes that key aspects of energy homeostasis brain circuitry already are functional by the time of birth (with substantial interindividual variation); that this phenotypic variation at birth is an important determinant of subsequent susceptibility for energy imbalance and childhood obesity risk; and that this brain circuitry exhibits developmental plasticity, in that it is influenced by conditions during intrauterine life, particularly maternal-placental-fetal endocrine, immune/inflammatory, and metabolic processes and their upstream determinants. We review evidence that supports the scientific premise for each element of this formulation, identify future research directions, particularly recent advances that may facilitate a better quantification of the ontogeny of energy homeostasis brain networks, highlight animal and in vitro-based approaches that may better address the determinants of interindividual variation in energy homeostasis brain networks, and discuss the implications of this formulation for the development of strategies targeted towards the primary prevention of childhood obesity.

Maternal Inflammation During Pregnancy and Offspring Brain Development: The Role of Mitochondria.

The association between maternal immune activation (MIA) during pregnancy and risk for offspring neuropsychiatric disorders has been increasingly recognized over the past several years. Among the mechanistic pathways that have been described through which maternal inflammation during pregnancy may affect fetal brain development, the role of mitochondria has received little attention. In this review, the role of mitochondria as a potential mediator of the association between MIA during pregnancy and offspring brain development and risk for psychiatric disorders will be proposed.

Rate of Gestational Weight Gain and Glucose-Insulin Metabolism Among Hispanic Pregnant Women With Overweight and Obesity.

Context: Hispanic women are at elevated risk of gestational glucose intolerance and postpartum type 2 diabetes compared with non-Hispanic White women. Identification of potentially modifiable factors contributing to this trajectory of beta-cell dysfunction is warranted.

Objective: We aimed to determine the association between rate of gestational weight gain (rGWG) and glucose-insulin metabolism in Hispanic pregnant women with overweight and obesity.

Prospective association of maternal psychosocial stress in pregnancy with newborn hippocampal volume and implications for infant social-emotional development.

Maternal psychosocial stress during pregnancy can impact the developing fetal brain and influence offspring mental health. In this context, animal studies have identified the hippocampus and amygdala as key brain regions of interest, however, evidence in humans is sparse. We, therefore, examined the associations between maternal prenatal psychosocial stress, newborn hippocampal and amygdala volumes, and child social-emotional development.

Acculturation and biological stress markers: A systematic review.

Background: The association of acculturation with health among immigrant populations is believed to be mediated, in part, by acculturation-related stress and stress biology.

Objectives: To review and qualitatively synthesize empirical findings on the relationship of acculturation with stress-related inflammatory and endocrine biomarkers and composite allostatic load (AL) scores.

Methods: A literature search was performed in the PubMed and PsycInfo databases.

Racial differences across pregnancy in maternal pro-inflammatory immune responsivity and its regulation by glucocorticoids.

Background: The distribution of adverse pregnancy, birth and subsequent child developmental and health outcomes in the U.S. is characterized by pronounced racial (particularly Black-white) disparities.