Visual memory errors in Parkinson's disease patient with visual hallucinations

The occurrences of visual hallucinations seem to be more prevalent in low light and hallucinators tend to be more prone to false positive type errors in memory tasks. Here we investigated whether the richness of stimuli does indeed affect recognition differently in hallucinating and nonhallucinating participants, and if so whether this difference extends to identifying spatial context. We compared 36 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with visual hallucinations, 32 Parkinson's patients without hallucinations, and 36 age-matched controls, on a visual memory task where color and black and white pictures were presented at different locations. Participants had to recognize the pictures among distracters along with the location of the stimulus. Findings revealed clear differences in performance between the groups. Both PD groups had impaired recognition compared to the controls, but those with hallucinations were significantly more impaired on black and white than on color stimuli. In addition, the group with hallucinations was significantly impaired compared to the other two groups on spatial memory. We suggest that not only do PD patients have poorer recognition of pictorial stimuli than controls, those who present with visual hallucinations appear to be more heavily reliant on bottom up sensory input and impaired on spatial ability.

Household language, residential segregation and social mobility: continuity and change in eThekwini, South Africa

This article uses South African census data for 1996, 2001 and 2011 to explore the relationship between language and social mobility in the metropolitan region of eThekwini (including what was previously known as Durban). We focus particular attention on variables selected to shed light on residential segregation and social mobility, such as education level, income, race and in-migration. Data on adults at ward level (using 2011 ward boundaries) in eThekwini is used to develop a comparative spatial context for this analysis. Our main finding is that English appears in eThekwini to be the household language of the social elite as well as the language of upward mobility and empowerment.

Addressing wildfire risk in forest management with a wildfire resistance indicator

Mestrado Mediterranean Forestry and Natural Resources Management - Instituto Superior de Agronomia - UL

Gestão da prática clínica na NephroCare-Portalegre: Contributos para a integração de estudantes de enfermagem

A aprendizagem em contexto de prática clínica, decorre com uma particularidade distinta em relação à aprendizagem formal em sala de aula, uma vez que o contexto social e espacial difere na complexidade de cada uma. A formação em enfermagem, constitui assim, um papel determinante no crescimento do estudante, conferindo-lhe a possibilidade de afirmação profissional, através da estruturação e consolidação dos conhecimentos teóricos adquiridos em sala de aula, permitindo-lhe assim, o desenvolvimento de novas competências técnico-práticas, num contexto de ambiente real. De forma a fundamentar todo este processo, torna-se necessário recorrer a um planeamento estratégico, racional e estrutural das acções que foram desenvolvidas. Imperatori (1993: 28), afirma que o planeamento da saúde tem como principais fases do seu processo os seguintes aspectos: o diagnóstico da situação, a definição de prioridades, a selecção de estratégias, a elaboração de programas e projectos, a preparação da execução e a avaliação. Um manual de Integração é um elemento facilitador do processo de acolhimento e integração de novos colaboradores numa determinada organização. Foram reconhecidas melhorias bastante significativas, nomeadamente na estrutura bem organizada e planificação do ensino clínico. Com o Manual de Integração, todos os ensinos clínicos a realizar são uniformes, permitindo assim, uma melhoria dos cuidados prestados pelos estudantes

Spatial and radiometric fidelity of airborne multispectral imagery in the context of land-cover change analyses

The goal was to quantitatively estimate and compare the fidelity of images acquired with a digital imaging system (ADAR 5500) and generated through scanning of color infrared aerial photographs (SCIRAP) using image-based metrics. Images were collected nearly simultaneously in two repetitive flights to generate multi-temporal datasets. Spatial fidelity of ADAR was lower than that of SCIRAP images. Radiometric noise was higher for SCIRAP than for ADAR images, even though noise from misregistration effects was lower. These results suggest that with careful control of film scanning, the overall fidelity of SCIRAP imagery can be comparable to that of digital multispectral camera data. Therefore, SCIRAP images can likely be used in conjunction with digital metric camera imagery in long-term landcover change analyses.

A Spatial-Temporal Downscaling Approach To Construction Of Rainfall Intensity-Duration-Frequency Relations In The Context Of Climate Change

This paper proposes a spatial-temporal downscaling approach to construction of the intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) relations at a local site in the context of climate change and variability. More specifically, the proposed approach is based on a combination of a spatial downscaling method to link large-scale climate variables given by General Circulation Model (GCM) simulations with daily extreme precipitations at a site and a temporal downscaling procedure to describe the relationships between daily and sub-daily extreme precipitations based on the scaling General Extreme Value (GEV) distribution. The feasibility and accuracy of the suggested method were assessed using rainfall data available at eight stations in Quebec (Canada) for the 1961-2000 period and climate simulations under four different climate change scenarios provided by the Canadian (CGCM3) and UK (HadCM3) GCM models. Results of this application have indicated that it is feasible to link sub-daily extreme rainfalls at a local site with large-scale GCM-based daily climate predictors for the construction of the IDF relations for present (1961-1990) and future (2020s, 2050s, and 2080s) periods at a given site under different climate change scenarios. In addition, it was found that annual maximum rainfalls downscaled from the HadCM3 displayed a smaller change in the future, while those values estimated from the CGCM3 indicated a large increasing trend for future periods. This result has demonstrated the presence of high uncertainty in climate simulations provided by different GCMs. In summary, the proposed spatial-temporal downscaling method provided an essential tool for the estimation of extreme rainfalls that are required for various climate-related impact assessment studies for a given region.

Ultrabithorax Confers Spatial Identity in a Context-Specific Manner in the Drosophila Postembryonic Ventral Nervous System

In holometabolous insects such as Drosophila melanogaster, neuroblasts produce an initial population of diverse neurons during embryogenesis and a much larger set of adult-specific neurons during larval life. In the ventral CNS, many of these secondary neuronal lineages differ significantly from one body segment to another, suggesting a role for anteroposterior patterning genes. Here we systematically characterize the expression pattern and function of the Hox gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx) in all 25 postembryonic lineages. We find that Ubx is expressed in a segment-, lineage-, and hemilineage-specific manner in the thoracic and anterior abdominal segments. When Ubx is removed from neuroblasts via mitotic recombination, neurons in these segments exhibit the morphologies and survival patterns of their anterior thoracic counterparts. Conversely, when Ubx is ectopically expressed in anterior thoracic segments, neurons exhibit complementary posterior transformation phenotypes. Our findings demonstrate that Ubx plays a critical role in conferring segment-appropriate morphology and survival on individual neurons in the adult-specific ventral CNS. Moreover, while always conferring spatial identity in some sense, Ubx has been co-opted during evolution for distinct and even opposite functions in different neuronal hemilineages.

Evaluating the spatial and social equity effects of road pricing in the European urban context: the Madrid Metropolitan Area.

The paper explores the spatial and social impacts arising from implementation of a road-pricing scheme in the Madrid Metropolitan Area (MMA). Our analytical focus is on understanding the effects of the scheme on the transport accessibility of different social groups within the MMA. We define an evaluation framework to appraise the accessibility of different districts within the MMA in terms of the actual and perceived cost of using the road infrastructure "before" and "after" the implementation of the scheme. The framework was developed using quantitative survey data and qualitative data from focus group discussions with residents. We then simulated user behaviors (mode and route choice) based on the empirical evidence from a travel demand model for the MMA. The results from our simulation model demonstrated that implementation of the toll on the orbital metropolitan motorways (M40, M30, for example) decreases accessibility, mostly in the districts where there are no viable public transport alternatives. Our key finding is that the economic burden of the road-pricing scheme particularly affects unskilled and lower income individuals living in the south of the MMA. Consequently lower income people reduce their use of tolled roads and have to find new arrangements for these trips: i.e. switch to the public transport, spend double the time for their commuter trips or stay at home. The results of our research could be applicable more widely for anyone wishing to better understand the important relationship between increased transport cost and social equity, especially where there is an intention to introduce similar road-pricing schemes within the urban context.

Context-sensitive synaptic plasticity and temporal-to-spatial transformations in hippocampal slices

Hippocampal slices are used to show that, as a temporal input pattern of activity flows through a neuronal layer, a temporal-to-spatial transformation takes place. That is, neurons can respond selectively to the first or second of a pair of input pulses, thus transforming different temporal patterns of activity into the activity of different neurons. This is demonstrated using associative long-term potentiation of polysynaptic CA1 responses as an activity-dependent marker: by depolarizing a postsynaptic CA1 neuron exclusively with the first or second of a pair of pulses from the dentate gyrus, it is possible to “tag” different subpopulations of CA3 neurons. This technique allows sampling of a population of neurons without recording simultaneously from multiple neurons. Furthermore, it reflects a biologically plausible mechanism by which single neurons may develop selective responses to time-varying stimuli and permits the induction of context-sensitive synaptic plasticity. These experimental results support the view that networks of neurons are intrinsically able to process temporal information and that it is not necessary to invoke the existence of internal clocks or delay lines for temporal processing on the time scale of tens to hundreds of milliseconds.

Visualization and prediction of spatial deformation using thin-plate splines in the context of scoliosis

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Visualization and prediction of spatial deformation using thin-plate splines in the context of scoliosis

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

How can geographical information systems and spatial analysis inform a response to prescription opioid misuse? a discussion in the context of existing literature

Managing Fisheries in the context of an integrated policy: the importance of spatial issues

A variety of conservation policies now frame the management of fishing activity and so do also the spatial planning of different sectorial activities. These framework policies are additional to classical fishery management. There is a risk that the policies applying on the marine system are not coherent from a fisheries point of view. The spatial management of fishing activity at regional scale has the potential to meet multiple management objectives, on a habitat basis. Here we consider how to integrate multiple objectives of different policies into integrated ocean management scenarios. In the EU, European Directives and the CFP are now implementing the ecosystem approach to the management of human activity at sea. In this context, we further identify three research needs: • Develop Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) for multiple-objective and multiple-sector spatial management schemes • Improve knowledge on and evaluation of functional habitats • Develop spatially-explicit end-to-end models with appropriate complexity for spatial MSE The contribution is based on the results of a workshop of the EraNet COFASP.