Visual-gustatory interaction: orbitofrontal and insular cortices mediate the effect of high-calorie visual food cues on taste pleasantness.

Vision provides a primary sensory input for food perception. It raises expectations on taste and nutritional value and drives acceptance or rejection. So far, the impact of visual food cues varying in energy content on subsequent taste integration remains unexplored. Using electrical neuroimaging, we assessed whether high- and low-calorie food cues differentially influence the brain processing and perception of a subsequent neutral electric taste. When viewing high-calorie food images, participants reported the subsequent taste to be more pleasant than when low-calorie food images preceded the identical taste. Moreover, the taste-evoked neural activity was stronger in the bilateral insula and the adjacent frontal operculum (FOP) within 100 ms after taste onset when preceded by high- versus low-calorie cues. A similar pattern evolved in the anterior cingulate (ACC) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) around 180 ms, as well as, in the right insula, around 360 ms. The activation differences in the OFC correlated positively with changes in taste pleasantness, a finding that is an accord with the role of the OFC in the hedonic evaluation of taste. Later activation differences in the right insula likely indicate revaluation of interoceptive taste awareness. Our findings reveal previously unknown mechanisms of cross-modal, visual-gustatory, sensory interactions underlying food evaluation.

Commissioner’s Planning Guidance, 2013

As technology evolves, vital resources shift, and the state’s population diversifies, Public Safety will have a unique opportunity to show our integrity, values, and worth to the citizens of Iowa. To take advantage of this unique moment in history, and will remain committed to, proactive and on-going strategic mapping. This strategic work will always be guided by Public Safety’s mission and core values, as well as by our responsibility to support local Police Departments and Sheriff’s Offices.

Feasibility Study for Detection and Quantification of Corrosion in Bridge Barrier Rails, RB11-012, 2013

"Technical challenges exist with infrastructure that can be addressed by nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, such as detecting corrosion damage to reinforcing steel that anchor concrete bridge railings to bridge road decks. Moisture and chloride ions reach the anchors along the cold joint between the rails and deck, causing corrosion that weakens the anchors and ultimately the barriers. The Center for Nondestructive Evaluation at Iowa State University has experience in development of measurement techniques and new sensors using a variety of interrogating energies. This research evaluated feasibility of three technologies — x-ray radiation, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and magnetic flux leakage (MFL) — for detection and quantification of corrosion of embedded reinforcing steel. Controlled samples containing pristine reinforcing steel with and without epoxy and reinforcing steel with 25 percent and 50 percent section reduction were embedded in concrete at 2.5 in. deep for laboratory evaluation. Two of the techniques, GPR and MFL, were used in a limited field test on the Iowa Highway 210 Bridge over Interstate 35 in Story County. The methods provide useful and complementary information. GPR provides a rapid approach to identify reinforcing steel that has anomalous responses. MFL provides similar detection responses but could be optimized to provide more quantitative correlation to actual condition. Full implementation could use either GPR or MFL methods to identify areas of concern, followed by radiography to give a visual image of the actual condition, providing the final guidance for maintenance actions." The full 103 page report and the 2 page Tech Transfer Summary are included in this link.

Outcome of long-axis percutaneous sacroplasty for the treatment of sacral insufficiency fractures.

Our aim was to assess the clinical outcome of patients who were subjected to long-axis sacroplasty for the treatment of sacral insufficiency fractures. Nineteen patients with unilateral (n = 3) or bilateral (n = 16) sacral fractures were involved. Under local anaesthesia, each patient was subjected to CT-guided sacroplasty using the long-axis approach through a single entry point. An average of 6 ml of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) was delivered along the path of each sacral fracture. For each individual patient, the Visual Analogue pain Scale (VAS) before sacroplasty and at 1, 4, 24 and 48 weeks after the procedure was obtained. Furthermore, the use of analgesics (narcotic/non-narcotic) along with the evolution of post-interventional patient mobility before and after sacroplasty was also recorded. The mean pre-procedure VAS was 8 +/- 1.9 (range, 2 to 10). This rapidly and significantly (P < 0.001) declined in the first week after the procedure (mean 4 +/- 1.4; range, 1 to 7) followed by a gradual and significant (P < 0.001) decrease along the rest of the follow-up period at 4 weeks (mean 3 +/- 1.1; range, 1 to 5), 24 weeks (mean 2.2 +/- 1.1; range, 1 to 5) and 48 weeks (mean 1.6 +/- 1.1; range, 1 to 5). Eleven (58%) patients were under narcotic analgesia before sacroplasty, whereas 8 (42%) patients were using non-narcotics. Corresponding values after the procedure were 2/19 (10%; narcotic, one of them was on reserve) and 10/19 (53%; non-narcotic). The remaining 7 (37%) patients did not address post-procedure analgesic use. The evolution of post-interventional mobility was favourable in the study group as they revealed a significant improvement in their mobility point scale (P < 0.001). Long-axis percutaneous sacroplasty is a suitable, minimally invasive treatment option for patients who present with sacral insufficiency fractures. More studies with larger patient numbers are needed to explore any unrecognised limitations of this therapeutic approach.

Changes in volume, surface estimate, three-dimensional shape and total number of neurons of the human primary visual cortex from midgestation until old age.

Macroscopic features such as volume, surface estimate, thickness and caudorostral length of the human primary visual cortex (Brodman's area 17) of 46 human brains between midgestation and 93 years were studied by means of camera lucida drawings from serial frontal sections. Individual values were best fitted by a logistic function from midgestation to adulthood and by a regression line between adulthood and old age. Allometric functions were calculated to study developmental relationships between all the features. The three-dimensional shape of area 17 was also reconstructed from the serial sections in 15 cases and correlated with the sequence of morphological events. The sulcal pattern of area 17 begins to develop around 21 weeks of gestation but remains rather simple until birth, while it becomes more convoluted, particularly in the caudal part, during the postnatal period. Until birth, a large increase in cortical thickness (about 83% of its mean adult value) and caudorostral length (69%) produces a moderate increase in cortical volume (31%) and surface estimate (40%) of area 17. After birth, the cortical volume and surface undergo their maximum growth rate, in spite of a rather small increase in cortical thickness and caudorostral length. This is due to the development of the pattern of gyrification within and around the calcarine fissure. All macroscopic features have reached the mean adult value by the end of the first postnatal year. With aging, the only features to undergo significant regression are the cortical surface estimate and the caudorostral length. The total number of neurons in area 17 shows great interindividual variability at all ages. No decrease in the postnatal period or in aging could be demonstrated.

Us explico un conte? Ús de llibres il·lustrats per a la didàctica de l'educació visual i plàstica

L'objectiu d'aquest article és promoure la incorporació de llibres il-lustrats a l'espai docent, tot defensant la interacció entre escola i entorn. Amb aquesta intenció es presenta una experiència docent que es du a terme a les classes de Didàctica de l'Educació Visual i Plàstica (UB), en la formació inicial del professorat d'educació primària, que empra el llibre il-lustrat com a eina docent. Es tracta d'un corpus d'obres de gran qualitat, la temàtica dels quals està relacionada amb el fet artístic i la seva didàctica. Amb l'ús a les aules universitàries d'aquest tipus de llibres es volen aconseguir principalment tres objectius: donar-los a conèixer als futurs mestres per a la seva formació i perquè els puguin compartir amb els seus futurs alumnes a les aules d'Educació Primària; tractar temes específics de l'àrea de plàstica, i fomentar la reflexió sobre la pràctica docent o altres temes específics.

La didàctica de l'educació visual i plàstica, entre el discurs visual i el discurs estètic. La perversió del model

El presente trabajo es el resultado de un año de investigación de campo y de estudio bibliográfico, que se formalizó en un proyecto educativo dirigido a alumnos de 3 de secundaria en la área de educación visual y plástica. " Las manos" , título del proyecto, se presentó como una alternativa en la didáctica de la educación visual y plástica cuando se plantea desde un aprendizaje lineal, desde un modelo. El planteamiento consistió en potenciar la comprensión y expresión artísticas a partir de la interrelación de otras áreas de conocimiento con la visual y plástica para sensibilizar al alumno en la importancia que tiene el proceso en el acto creativo. Valorar el proceso facilitó la asimilación de conceptos como figuración, abstracción y síntesis tan importantes para entender el hecho artístico. La valoración positiva del proyecto no pretende contraponer dos metodologías diferentes: la lineal con modelos y la que se presenta en espiral, inductiva, con referentes que no tienen que ser necesariamente visuales. Las dos opciones pueden actuar en simbiosis siempre que el alumno sepa percibir el significado que quiere dar a su obra y que todo no quede en una pura representación decorativa.

Dins el bosc de la cultura visual. Apunts per a una actualització pedagògica

L'era de la comunicació acara la comunitat educativa davant de nous reptes, especialment en l'àmbit de la cultura visual. La cultura visual es manifesta avui arreu i no hi ha àmbit ni familiar ni social ni educatiu que no en participi. Més enllà de la visualització i experimentació d'alguns procediments artístics canònics, l'ensenyament de les arts visuals i plàstiques observa la necessitat d'ampliar el seu radi d'acció, reflexió i anàlisi de manera coparticipada. Un repàs a la trajectòria històrica de l'aprenentatge artístic dóna peu a algunes preguntes rellevants com ara, quins aprenentatges per a quines competències? Per a quina societat i amb quins instruments cal educar els infants? Quines inèrcies i teories s¿hereten del passat i quin lloc cal que tinguin en el futur? Quines aportacions cognitives o empíriques permetrien una renovació positiva en l'àmbit de l¿educació visual i plàstica? Són preguntes difícils però peremptòries si no es vol girar l'esquena a l'evidència dels canvis comunicatius i socials del nostre temps.

Reproducibility of species lists, visual cover estimates and frequency methods for recording high mountain vegetation

Question: When multiple observers record the same spatial units of alpine vegetation, how much variation is there in the records and what are the consequences of this variation for monitoring schemes to detect change? Location: One test summit in Switzerland (Alps) and one test summit in Scotland (Cairngorm Mountains). Method: Eight observers used the GLORIA protocols for species composition and visual cover estimates in percent on large summit sections (>100 m2) and species composition and frequency in nested quadrats (1 m2). Results: The multiple records from the same spatial unit for species composition and species cover showed considerable variation in the two countries. Estimates of pseudoturnover of composition and coefficients of variation of cover estimates for vascular plant species in 1m x 1m quadrats showed less variation than in previously published reports whereas our results in larger sections were broadly in line with previous reports. In Scotland, estimates for bryophytes and lichens were more variable than for vascular plants. Conclusions: Statistical power calculations indicated that, unless large numbers of plots were used, changes in cover or frequency were only likely to be detected for abundant species (exceeding 10% cover) or if relative changes were large (50% or more). Lower variation could be reached with the point methods and with larger numbers of small plots. However, as summits often strongly differ from each other, supplementary summits cannot be considered as a way of increasing statistical power without introducing a supplementary component of variance into the analysis and hence the power calculations.

A inclusão social e digital de pessoas com limitação visual e o uso das tecnologias de informação e de comunicação na produção de páginas para a Internet

Este trabalho relata a atividade do acesso e do uso das tecnologias de informação e de comunicação (TICs), tendo como sujeito uma pessoa com necessidades educacionais especiais (PNEE) na produção de páginas para a Internet. A atividade permitiu a observação das barreiras e dificuldades enfrentadas e superadas, mediante o uso de ambiente de aprendizagem mediado por computador (AAMC). Foram utilizadas várias alternativas, formas de comunicação, tecnologias adequadas para a realização da atividade proposta, resultando em uma postura de compartilhamento no qual cada um tem muito para cooperar, para doar-se na busca de uma construção coletiva e na superação das limitações, sejam estas físicas e/ou tecnológicas. O artigo aponta que, com a educação e o uso das TICs, é possível promover a inclusão social e digital das PNEEs com limitação visual.

Capacitação de bibliotecários com limitação visual pela educação a distância em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem

Este artigo ressalta a importância da capacitação de bibliotecários, profissionais da informação, por meio da educação aberta e a distância (EAD) mediada por computador, sendo estes videntes ou pessoas com necessidades educacionais especiais (PNEEs) com limitação visual. Apresenta o curso Bibliotec II, realizado pelo DCI/Fabico/UFRGS, ministrado para bibliotecários e com a participação de dois profissionais PNEEs com limitação visual. Aborda temas relacionados à biblioteca escolar, à educação, à acessibilidade e à inclusão social, digital e profissional das PNEEs, e o bibliotecário como educador, sendo um mediador, junto com os professores e os alunos, no uso das TICs, nos processos de interação, colaboração, cooperação em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem (AVAs).