More is not always better-comparison of three instruments measuring volume of drinking in a sample of young men and their association with consequences

OBJECTIVE: In general population survey instruments that measure volume of drinking, additional questions and shorter reference periods yield higher volumes. Comparison studies have focused on volume but not on associations between volume and consequences. METHOD: From a cohort study on substance use risk factors (Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors [C-SURF]), baseline data were analyzed for 5,074 young (approximately 20-year-old) men who were drinkers in the past 12 months. Volume of drinking was measured by a generic quantity-frequency (QF) instrument, an extended QF (separately for weekends and weekdays) instrument with 12-months recall, and a retrospective past-week diary. Associations of consequences with and without attribution of alcohol as a cause, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), criteria for dependence, and DSM-5 alcohol use disorder in the past 12 months were analyzed. RESULTS: The generic QF measure resulted in lower volume compared with either the extended QF measure (more questions) or the retrospective diary (the most questions and the shortest recall period). For outcomes, however, the extended QF assessment performed the best and the diary the worst. CONCLUSIONS: Higher volume yields are not always better regarding associations with outcomes. The extended QF instrument better captures the variability of drinking. The retrospective diary performs poorly for associations because of the mismatch with the recall period for past-12-months consequences and the potential for misclassification of past-week abstainers and heavy drinkers because of an uncommon past week. Diaries are not recommended for research investigating individual associations between exposure and outcomes in young populations if consequences are measured with a sufficiently long interval to capture rare consequences. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 75, 880-888, 2014).

Diseño y Desarrollo de un cliente Web Processing Services (WPS) para gvSIG

Configuració d'un entorn de desenvolupament en el IDE Eclipse. Introducció als SIG. Usos, utilitats i exemples. Conèixer la eina gvSIG. Conèixer els estàndards més estesos de l'Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) i en especial del Web Processing Services. Analitzar, dissenyar i desenvolupar un client capaç de consumir serveis wps.

IEF pattern classification-derived criteria for the identification of epoetin-delta in urine.

Epoetin-delta (Dynepo Shire Pharmaceuticals, Basing stoke, UK) is a synthetic form of erythropoietin (EPO) whose resemblance with endogenous EPO makes it hard to identify using the classical identification criteria. Urine samples collected from six healthy volunteers treated with epoetin-delta injections and from a control population were immuno-purified and analyzed with the usual IEF method. On the basis of the EPO profiles integration, a linear multivariate model was computed for discriminant analysis. For each sample, a pattern classification algorithm returned a bands distribution and intensity score (bands intensity score) saying how representative this sample is of one of the two classes, positive or negative. Effort profiles were also integrated in the model. The method yielded a good sensitivity versus specificity relation and was used to determine the detection window of the molecule following multiple injections. The bands intensity score, which can be generalized to epoetin-alpha and epoetin-beta, is proposed as an alternative criterion and a supplementary evidence for the identification of EPO abuse.

Techniques for CT and MR, post-processing, radiation

Brain perfusion can be assessed by CT and MR. For CT, two major techniques are used. First, Xenon CT is an equilibrium technique based on a freely diffusible tracer. First pass of iodinated contrast injected intravenously is a second method, more widely available. Both methods are proven to be robust and quantitative, thanks to the linear relationship between contrast concentration and x-ray attenuation. For the CT methods, concern regarding x-ray doses delivered to the patients need to be addressed. MR is also able to assess brain perfusion using the first pass of gadolinium based contrast agent injected intravenously. This method has to be considered as a semi-quantitative because of the non linear relationship between contrast concentration and MR signal changes. Arterial spin labeling is another MR method assessing brain perfusion without injection of contrast. In such case, the blood flow in the carotids is magnetically labelled by an external radiofrequency pulse and observed during its first pass through the brain. Each of this various CT and MR techniques have advantages and limits that will be illustrated and summarized.Learning Objectives:1. To understand and compare the different techniques for brain perfusion imaging.2. To learn about the methods of acquisition and post-processing of brain perfusion by first pass of contrast agent for CT and MR.3. To learn about non contrast MR methods (arterial spin labelling).

Diseño y Desarrollo de un cliente Web Processing Service (WPS) para gvSIG

Estudi dels estàndards definits per l'Open Geospatial Consortium, i més concretament en l'estàndard Web Processing Service (wps). Així mateix, ha tingut una component pràctica que ha consistit en el disseny i desenvolupament d'un client capaç de consumir serveis Web creats segons wps i integrat a la plataforma gvSIG.

Uso de tecnologías abiertas (Processing) en el desarrollo de interfaces avanzadas de visualización y acceso de datos : Estudio del caso Organic.Edunet

El artículo muestra, a través del estudio del caso del buscador semántico del portal Organic.Edunet, cómo el uso de tecnologías cerradas en la creación de interfaces avanzadas de visualización de datos impide su desarrollo y evolución. En el artículo se mostrará también cómo, combinado con técnicas para la medición y valoración de la usabilidad de las aplicaciones, el uso de tecnologías abiertas permite detectar los problemas del interface, proponer soluciones o alternativas, e implementarlas rápidamente.

Early processing in the human lateral occipital complex is highly responsive to illusory contours but not to salient regions.

Human electrophysiological studies support a model whereby sensitivity to so-called illusory contour stimuli is first seen within the lateral occipital complex. A challenge to this model posits that the lateral occipital complex is a general site for crude region-based segmentation, based on findings of equivalent hemodynamic activations in the lateral occipital complex to illusory contour and so-called salient region stimuli, a stimulus class that lacks the classic bounding contours of illusory contours. Using high-density electrical mapping of visual evoked potentials, we show that early lateral occipital cortex activity is substantially stronger to illusory contour than to salient region stimuli, whereas later lateral occipital complex activity is stronger to salient region than to illusory contour stimuli. Our results suggest that equivalent hemodynamic activity to illusory contour and salient region stimuli probably reflects temporally integrated responses, a result of the poor temporal resolution of hemodynamic imaging. The temporal precision of visual evoked potentials is critical for establishing viable models of completion processes and visual scene analysis. We propose that crude spatial segmentation analyses, which are insensitive to illusory contours, occur first within dorsal visual regions, not the lateral occipital complex, and that initial illusory contour sensitivity is a function of the lateral occipital complex.

Auditory spatial deficits following hemispheric lesions: Dissociation of explicit and implicit processing.

Auditory spatial deficits occur frequently after hemispheric damage; a previous case report suggested that the explicit awareness of sound positions, as in sound localisation, can be impaired while the implicit use of auditory cues for the segregation of sound objects in noisy environments remains preserved. By assessing systematically patients with a first hemispheric lesion, we have shown that (1) explicit and/or implicit use can be disturbed; (2) impaired explicit vs. preserved implicit use dissociations occur rather frequently; and (3) different types of sound localisation deficits can be associated with preserved implicit use. Conceptually, the dissociation between the explicit and implicit use may reflect the dual-stream dichotomy of auditory processing. Our results speak in favour of systematic assessments of auditory spatial functions in clinical settings, especially when adaptation to auditory environment is at stake. Further, systematic studies are needed to link deficits of explicit vs. implicit use to disability in everyday activities, to design appropriate rehabilitation strategies, and to ascertain how far the explicit and implicit use of spatial cues can be retrained following brain damage.

Mètodes empírics en lingüística cognitiva

Peer-reviewed

Biomedical nanoparticles modulate specific CD4(+) T cell stimulation by inhibition of antigen processing in dendritic cells

Understanding how nanoparticles may affect immune responses is an essential prerequisite to developing novel clinical applications. To investigate nanoparticle-dependent outcomes on immune responses, dendritic cells (DCs) were treated with model biomedical poly(vinylalcohol)-coated super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (PVA-SPIONs). PVA-SPIONs uptake by human monocyte-derived DCs (MDDCs) was analyzed by flow cytometry (FACS) and advanced imaging techniques. Viability, activation, function, and stimulatory capacity of MDDCs were assessed by FACS and an in vitro CD4(+) T cell assay. PVA-SPION uptake was dose-dependent, decreased by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced MDDC maturation at higher particle concentrations, and was inhibited by cytochalasin D pre-treatment. PVA-SPIONs did not alter surface marker expression (CD80, CD83, CD86, myeloid/plasmacytoid DC markers) or antigen-uptake, but decreased the capacity of MDDCs to process antigen, stimulate CD4(+) T cells, and induce cytokines. The decreased antigen processing and CD4(+) T cell stimulation capability of MDDCs following PVA-SPION treatment suggests that MDDCs may revert to a more functionally immature state following particle exposure.

Quantitative electroencephalography reveals different physiological profiles between benign and remitting-relapsing multiple sclerosis patients

BACKGROUND A possible method of finding physiological markers of multiple sclerosis (MS) is the application of EEG quantification (QEEG) of brain activity when the subject is stressed by the demands of a cognitive task. In particular, modulations of the spectral content that take place in the EEG of patients with multiple sclerosis remitting-relapsing (RRMS) and benign multiple sclerosis (BMS) during a visuo-spatial task need to be observed. METHODS The sample consisted of 19 patients with RRMS, 10 with BMS, and 21 control subjects. All patients were free of medication and had not relapsed within the last month. The power spectral density (PSD) of different EEG bands was calculated by Fast-Fourier-Transformation (FFT), those analysed being delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma. Z-transformation was performed to observe individual profiles in each experimental group for spectral modulations. Lastly, correlation analyses was performed between QEEG values and other variables from participants in the study (age, EDSS, years of evolution and cognitive performance). RESULTS Nearly half (42%) the RRMS patients showed a statistically significant increase of two or more standard deviations (SD) compared to the control mean value for the beta-2 and gamma bands (F = 2.074, p = 0.004). These alterations were localized to the anterior regions of the right hemisphere, and bilaterally to the posterior areas of the scalp. None of the BMS patients or control subjects had values outside the range of +/- 2 SD. There were no significant correlations between these values and the other variables analysed (age, EDSS, years of evolution or behavioural performance). CONCLUSION During the attentional processing, changes in the high EEG spectrum (beta-2 and gamma) in MS patients exhibit physiological alterations that are not normally detected by spontaneous EEG analysis. The different spectral pattern between pathological and controls groups could represent specific changes for the RRMS patients, indicative of compensatory mechanisms or cortical excitatory states representative of some phases during the RRMS course that are not present in the BMS group.

Colour image processing

In the context of the round table the following topics related to image colour processing will be discussed: historical point of view. Studies of Aguilonius, Gerritsen, Newton and Maxwell. CIE standard (Commission International de lpsilaEclaraige). Colour models. RGB, HIS, etc. Colour segmentation based on HSI model. Industrial applications. Summary and discussion. At the end, video images showing the robustness of colour in front of B/W images will be presented

Paleoparasitological report on Ascaris aDNA from an ancient East Asian sample

In this study, Ascaris DNA was extracted and sequenced from a medieval archaeological sample in Korea. While Ascaris eggs were confirmed to be of human origin by archaeological evidence, it was not possible to pinpoint the exact species due to close genetic relationships among them. Despite this shortcoming, this is the first Ascaris ancient DNA (aDNA) report from a medieval Asian country and thus will expand the scope of Ascaris aDNA research.