Reading performance is not affected by a prism induced increase of horizontal and vertical vergence demand

PURPOSE Dyslexia is the most common developmental reading disorder that affects language skills. Latent strabismus (heterophoria) has been suspected to be causally involved. Even though phoria correction in dyslexic children is commonly applied, the evidence in support of a benefit is poor. In order to provide experimental evidence on this issue, we simulated phoria in healthy readers by modifying the vergence tone required to maintain binocular alignment. METHODS Vergence tone was altered with prisms that were placed in front of one eye in 16 healthy subjects to induce exophoria, esophoria, or vertical phoria. Subjects were to read one paragraph for each condition, from which reading speed was determined. Text comprehension was tested with a forced multiple choice test. Eye movements were recorded during reading and subsequently analyzed for saccadic amplitudes, saccades per 10 letters, percentage of regressive (backward) saccades, average fixation duration, first fixation duration on a word, and gaze duration. RESULTS Acute change of horizontal and vertical vergence tone does neither significantly affect reading performance nor reading associated eye movements. CONCLUSION Prisms in healthy subjects fail to induce a significant change of reading performance. This finding is not compatible with a role of phoria in dyslexia. Our results contrast the proposal for correcting small angle heterophorias in dyslexic children.

Effectiveness of individual resource-oriented joint protection education in people with rheumatoid arthritis. A randomized controlled trial

the modern joint protection (JP) concept for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an active coping strategy to improve daily tasks and role performance by changing working methods and using assistive devices. Effective group JP education includes psycho-educational interventions. The Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure (PRISM) is an interactive hands-on-tool, assessing (a) the individual's perceived burden of illness and (b) relevant individual resources. Both issues are important for intrinsic motivation to take action and change behaviour. This study compared individual conventional JP education (C-JP) with PRISM-based JP education (PRISM-JP).

Six and 12 months' effects of individual joint protection education in people with rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized controlled trial

Joint protection (JP) education for people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is effective when applying psycho-educational teaching strategies. The Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self Measure (PRISM) was used to identify relevant JP education goals and life aspects, both supporting motivation and behaviour change. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of individual JP education, PRISM-based (PRISM-JP) vs. conventional (C-JP), in people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Natale und neonatale Zähne

Natal teeth have been defined as teeth which are present at birth, while neonatal teeth erupt during the first 30 days. Their occurrence is rare, the prevalence ranges from 1:2000 to 1:3000 with a higher frequency in the lip and palate clefts and syndroms. In about 85% natal or neonatal teeth are lower central incisors (60% in pairs), rare are upper teeth, molars and multiple teeth. In almost 90% they are part of the deciduous dentition. A lot of possible causes of early eruption are discussed, but only the relation to hereditary factors seems to be evident. An autosomal dominant trait is often described. The appearance of these teeth is dependent on the degree of maturity, but most of the time it is loose, small, discoloured and hypoplastic. Histologically, enamel hypoplasia with normal prism structure is apparent. No significant disturbances of the dentin structures are observed, only cervically dentin becomes atubular with spaces and enclosed cells. A large vascular pulp and failure of root formation are further investigations. Our microhardness measurements showed values from 24.3-32.4 KHN for enamel and 48.3-62.2 KHN for dentin, while normal deciduous teeth have an enamel hardness of 322.0 +/- 17.5 KHN. The thickness of enamel was never more than 280 microm compared to up to 1200 microm in normal teeth. This shows the retarded development of natal and neonatal teeth, because mineralization has not finished at the time of birth. In accordance with developmental age tooth structure and appearence are normal. In consideration of complications as Riga-Fede-disease, feeding problems, possibility of infection and hypermobility most of the time extraction is the treatment of choice, but in the interest of protecting the child this decision should be made carefully.

Fiberoptic system for recording dendritic calcium signals in layer 5 neocortical pyramidal cells in freely moving rats

Calcium influx into the dendritic tufts of layer 5 neocortical pyramidal neurons modifies a number of important cellular mechanisms. It can trigger local synaptic plasticity and switch the firing properties from regular to burst firing. Due to methodological limitations, our knowledge about Ca2+ spikes in the dendritic tuft stems mostly from in vitro experiments. However, it has been speculated that regenerative Ca2+ events in the distal dendrites correlate with distinct behavioral states. Therefore it would be most desirable to be able to record these Ca2+ events in vivo, preferably in the behaving animal. Here, we present a novel approach for recording Ca2+ signals in the dendrites of populations of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in vivo, which ensures that all recorded fluorescence changes are due to intracellular Ca2+ signals in the apical dendrites. The method has two main features: 1) bolus loading of layer 5 with a membrane-permeant Ca2+ dye resulting in specific loading of pyramidal cell dendrites in the upper layers and 2) a fiberoptic cable attached to a gradient index lens and a prism reflecting light horizontally at 90 degrees to the angle of the apical dendrites. We demonstrate that the in vivo signal-to-noise ratio recorded with this relatively inexpensive and easy-to-implement fiberoptic-based device is comparable to conventional camera-based imaging systems used in vitro. In addition, the device is flexible and lightweight and can be used for recording Ca2+ signals in the distal dendritic tuft of freely behaving animals.

A Texture-based land cover classification for the delineation of a shifting cultivation landscape in the Lao PDR using landscape metrics

The delineation of shifting cultivation landscapes using remote sensing in mountainous regions is challenging. On the one hand, there are difficulties related to the distinction of forest and fallow forest classes as occurring in a shifting cultivation landscape in mountainous regions. On the other hand, the dynamic nature of the shifting cultivation system poses problems to the delineation of landscapes where shifting cultivation occurs. We present a two-step approach based on an object-oriented classification of Advanced Land Observing Satellite, Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Spectrometer (ALOS AVNIR) and Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping (ALOS PRISM) data and landscape metrics. When including texture measures in the object-oriented classification, the accuracy of forest and fallow forest classes could be increased substantially. Based on such a classification, landscape metrics in the form of land cover class ratios enabled the identification of crop-fallow rotation characteristics of the shifting cultivation land use practice. By classifying and combining these landscape metrics, shifting cultivation landscapes could be delineated using a single land cover dataset.

Hybrid bodies in cyborg sports? The case of Oscar Pistorius

The capabilities of postmodern biotechnology inevitably lead to questioning if it is morally acceptable to use all possibilities offered by technology. In sport, this very complex issue is dealt with by drawing clear boundaries between naturalness and artificiality. Currently, new biotechnology is constantly being produced and with this, boundaries between naturalness and artificiality, between normal and abnormal, human and hybrid are constantly shifting . “Human enhancement” is a fascinating prism that reflects contemporary questions of participation, justice, equality and the autonomy of the subject in all social fields. The area of elite sports is particularly affected by “human enhancement”, according to the principle of exceeding what has come before, of aiming higher, faster and further. This paper analyses the postulated “naturalness” in the regulative and normalising function in the area of elite sports, in connection with Foucault’s theory of governmentality. The example of the South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius appears to be particularly suited to illustrate current definition difficulties in the area of disabled and non-disabled people in differentiated competitive sports. His is a vivid example of a multifaceted body-sociological analysis of current sport culture and the construction of reality or naturalness in the framework of the discourse of drafting and negotiating the accreditation for sprint competitions of non-disabled athletes, most recently in the London Olympics 2012. Using the case study of Oscar Pistorius, the negotiating processes in relation to the argumentation logic, dynamics and resistance in shifting distinctions are presented in detail using the fundamental documents of the IOC, IPC, CAS and IAAF. Represented through the inclusion and exclusion processes are hierarchies of the body that are (re)consolidated and transformed. The central question emerges as to how the worth of equal opportunity and fairness in regard to “naturalness” can be reconsolidated or transformed.

Microfabric memory of vein quartz for strain localization in detachment faults: A case study on the Simplon fault zone

This manuscript deals with the adaptation of quartz-microfabrics to changing physical deformation conditions, and discusses their preservation potential during subsequent retrograde deformation. Using microstructural analysis, a sequence of recrystallization processes in quartz, ranging from Grain-Boundary Migration Recrystallization (GBM) over Subgrain-Rotation Recrystallization (SGR) to Bulging Nucleation (BLG) is detected for the Simplon fault zone (SFZ) from the low strain rim towards the internal high strain part of the large-scale shear zone. Based on: (i) the retrograde cooling path; (ii) estimates of deformation temperatures; and (iii) spatial variation of dynamic recrystallization processes and different microstructural characteristics, continuous strain localization with decreasing temperature is inferred. In contrast to the recrystallization microstructures, crystallographic preferred orientations (CPO) have a longer memory. CPO patterns indicative of prism and rhomb glide systems in mylonitic quartz veins, overprinted at low temperatures (�400 �C), suggest inheritance of a high-temperature deformation. In this way, microstructural, textural and geochemical analyses provide information for several million years of the deformation history. The reasons for such incomplete resetting of the rock texture is that strain localization is caused by change in effective viscosity contrasts related to temporal large- and small-scale temperature changes during the evolution of such a long-lived shear zone. The spatially resolved, quantitative investigation of quartz microfabrics and associated recrystallization processes therefore provide great potential for an improved understanding of the geodynamics of large-scale shear zones.