Automatic attention lateral asymmetry in visual discrimination tasks

There is evidence that automatic visual attention favors the right side. This study investigated whether this lateral asymmetry interacts with the right hemisphere dominance for visual location processing and left hemisphere dominance for visual shape processing. Volunteers were tested in a location discrimination task and a shape discrimination task. The target stimuli (S2) could occur in the left or right hemifield. They were preceded by an ipsilateral, contralateral or bilateral prime stimulus (S1). The attentional effect produced by the right S1 was larger than that produced by the left S1. This lateral asymmetry was similar between the two tasks suggesting that the hemispheric asymmetries of visual mechanisms do not contribute to it. The finding that it was basically due to a longer reaction time to the left S2 than to the right S2 for the contralateral S1 condition suggests that the inhibitory component of attention is laterally asymmetric.

Neurofilament heavy subunit in cerebrospinal fluid: A biomarker of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?

The objectives of this study were to investigate the presence of the three neurofilament subunits, ubiquitin, proteasome and 3-nitrotyrosine, in CSF samples of ALS patients. CSF samples were obtained by lumbar puncture from 10 ALS patients and six controls. All samples were analysed by Western blotting. Results revealed that neurofilament heavy subunit was identified in 70% of ALS cases and we conclude that this subunit may be a promising biomarker for clinical diagnosis of ALS.

NAD Biosynthesis Evolution in Bacteria: Lateral Gene Transfer of Kynurenine Pathway in Xanthomonadales and Flavobacteriales

The biosynthesis of quinolinate, the de novo precursor of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), may be performed by two distinct pathways, namely, the bacterial aspartate (aspartate-to-quinolinate) and the eukaryotic kynurenine (tryptophan-to-quinolinate). Even though the separation into eukaryotic and bacterial routes is long established, recent genomic surveys have challenged this view, because certain bacterial species also carry the genes for the kynurenine pathway. In this work, both quinolinate biosynthetic pathways were investigated in the Bacteria clade and with special attention to Xanthomonadales and Bacteroidetes, from an evolutionary viewpoint. Genomic screening has revealed that a small number of bacterial species possess some of the genes for the kynurenine pathway, which is complete in the genus Xanthomonas and in the order Flavobacteriales, where the aspartate pathway is absent. The opposite pattern (presence of the aspartate pathway and absence of the kynurenine pathway) in close relatives (Xylella ssp. and the order Bacteroidales, respectively) points to the idea of a recent acquisition of the kynurenine pathway through lateral gene transfer in these bacterial groups. In fact, sequence similarity comparison and phylogenetic reconstruction both suggest that at least part of the genes of the kynurenine pathway in Xanthomonas and Flavobacteriales is shared by eukaryotes. These results reinforce the idea of the role that lateral gene transfer plays in the configuration of bacterial genomes, thereby providing alternative metabolic pathways, even with the replacement of primary and essential cell functions, as exemplified by NAD biosynthesis.

Restoring the azimuthal symmetry of lateral distributions of charged particles in the range of the KASCADE-Grande experiment

The reconstruction of Extensive Air Showers (EAS) observed by particle detectors at the ground is based on the characteristics of observables like the lateral particle density and the arrival times. The lateral densities, inferred for different EAS components from detector data, are usually parameterised by applying various lateral distribution functions (LDFs). The LDFs are used in turn for evaluating quantities like the total number of particles or the density at particular radial distances. Typical expressions for LDFs anticipate azimuthal symmetry of the density around the shower axis. The deviations of the lateral particle density from this assumption arising from various reasons are smoothed out in the case of compact arrays like KASCADE, but not in the case of arrays like Grande, which only sample a smaller part of the azimuthal variation. KASCADE-Grande, an extension of the former KASCADE experiment, is a multi-component Extensive Air Shower (EAS) experiment located at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Campus North), Germany. The lateral distributions of charged particles are deduced from the basic information provided by the Grande scintillators - the energy deposits - first in the observation plane, then in the intrinsic shower plane. In all steps azimuthal dependences should be taken into account. As the energy deposit in the scintillators is dependent on the angles of incidence of the particles, azimuthal dependences are already involved in the first step: the conversion from the energy deposits to the charged particle density. This is done by using the Lateral Energy Correction Function (LECF) that evaluates the mean energy deposited by a charged particle taking into account the contribution of other particles (e.g. photons) to the energy deposit. By using a very fast procedure for the evaluation of the energy deposited by various particles we prepared realistic LECFs depending on the angle of incidence of the shower and on the radial and azimuthal coordinates of the location of the detector. Mapping the lateral density from the observation plane onto the intrinsic shower plane does not remove the azimuthal dependences arising from geometric and attenuation effects, in particular for inclined showers. Realistic procedures for applying correction factors are developed. Specific examples of the bias due to neglecting the azimuthal asymmetries in the conversion from the energy deposit in the Grande detectors to the lateral density of charged particles in the intrinsic shower plane are given. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Omvårdnad vid Amyotrofisk lateral skleros : erfarenheter ur ett patient och anhörigperspektiv : En systematisk litteraturstudie

Amyotrofisk lateral skleros (ALS) är en fortskridande neurologiska sjukdom som ger den drabbade och de anhöriga mycket sorg och smärta. Syftet med föreliggande systematiska litteraturstudie var att utifrån aktuell vetenskaplig litteratur beskriva upplevelsen och behovet av omvårdnad som den sjuke i ALS och deras anhöriga behövde. Syftet var också att beskriva vilken typ av information och stöd som behövdes. De vetenskapliga artiklarna som ligger till grund för denna litteraturstudie har sökt på databaserna Elin@Dalarna och Blackwell Synergy. Artiklarna skulle vara publicerade mellan åren 2000-2007 och vara skrivna på engelska. Även manuella sökningar har gjorts. Resultatet visade att sjukvården hade ett stort ansvar att stötta, hjälpa och informera vid denna fortskridande neurologiska sjukdom. Det fanns behov av multiinriktad omvårdnad där många olika professioner ingick för att kunna ge patienterna den helhetsvård de behövde. Det framkom att anhöriga var de som hade den givna omvårdnadsrollen och att de hade ett behov av avlastning och information om sjukdomen, behandlingen och symtomen. Anhöriga upplevde sjukdomen som en stor börda och påverkade deras egna hälsa.

Combined Vertical And Lateral Channel Evolution Numerical Modeling

Vertical stream bed erosion has been studied routinely and its modeling is getting widespread acceptance. The same cannot be said with lateral stream bank erosion since its measurement or numerical modeling is very challenging. Bank erosion, however, can be important to channel morphology. It may contribute significantly to the overall sediment budget of a stream, is a leading cause of channel migration, and is the cause of major channel maintenance. However, combined vertical and lateral channel evolution is seldom addressed. In this study, a new geofluival numerical model is developed to simulate combined vertical and lateral channel evolution. Vertical erosion is predicted with a 2D depth-averaged model SRH-2D, while lateral erosion is simulated with a linear retreat bank erosion model developed in this study. SRH-2D and the bank erosion model are coupled together both spatially and temporally through a common mesh and the same time advancement. The new geofluvial model is first tested and verified using laboratory meander channels; good agreement are obtained between predicted bank retreat and measured data. The model is then applied to a 16-kilometer reach of Chosui River, Taiwan. Vertical and lateral channel evolution during a three-year period (2004 to 2007) is simulated and results are compared with the field data. It is shown that the geofluvial model correctly captures all major erosion and deposition patterns. The new model is shown to be useful for identifying potential erosion sites and providing information for river maintenance planning.

Depinning do fluxo de Josephson em compósitos YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-delta/Ag

Apresenta-se neste trabalho um estudo experimental da dinâmica do fluxo magnético intergranular no cuprato supercondutor Y Ba2Cu3O7 e nos compósitos Y Ba2CU3O7 fi/Ag para várias concentrações de prata. Verificou-se que sob certas condições é possível separar os efeitos da dinâmica do fluxo de Josephson daqueles resultantes da dinâmica de Abrikosov. Através da técnica de medidas de magnetização DC foram obtidas as linhas de depinning inicial e de irreversibilidade magnética em campo magnético aplicado até 120 Oe. O revestimento dos grãos supercondutores aparentemente não afeta a energia de acoplamento dos elos fracos entre os grãos e o potencial de pinning até 16.1 % em peso de prata. A vantagem da mistura da prata é que esta melhora as propriedades mecânicas dos óxidos supercondutores além de melhorar as correntes críticas do sistema. Observamos que o depinning do fluxo de Josephson começa numa temperatura bem definida, dependendo do campo magnético aplicado e gradualmente aumenta com a temperatura até ou muito próximo do limite de irreversibilidade, acima do qual todo o fluxo intergranular (e intragranular) está livre. As linhas de irreversibilidade das nossas amostras podem ser entendidas dentro do modelo do Vidro supercondutor.

A lateral pós-vocálica no português gaúcho : análise variacionista e representação não-linear

Este trabalho é um estudo da lateral pós-vocálica no que se refere à sua realização como variante velarizada ou vocalizada, sob a perspectiva variacionista. O corpus utilizado é a fala de vinte e oito indivíduos de quatro regiões representativas de diferentes grupos étnicos existentes no Rio Grande do Sul. São examinadas as variáveis lingüísticas e extralingüísticas envolvidas na variação em estudo, confirmando-se a variável grupo étnico como a que mais favorece a presença das duas variantes. Além disso, apresentam-se as regras de velarização e de vocalização da lateral pós-vocálica em termos de traços fonológicos na linha de Clements e discute-se a posição destas no sistema de acordo com a linha da Fonologia Lexical.

Medidas de fluxo em enxerto arterial composto em Y para cirurgia de revascularização do miocárdio

Resumo não disponível.

Determinação de parâmetros de criticalidade, fluxo e potência em placas planas pelo método LTSn

O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em aplicar o método LTSn em cálculos de parâmetros críticos como Keff, espessura e concentração atômica e obtenção do fiuxo escalar, da potência específica e do enriquecimento do combustível em placa plana homogenea e heterogênea, considerando modelo multigrupo e em diversas ordens de quadraturas. O método LTSn consiste na aplicação da transformada de Laplace em um conjunto de equações~de ordenadas discretas gerado pela aproximação SN, resultando em um sistema de equações algébricas simbólicas dependentes do parâmetro complexo s e reconstrução dos fluxos angulares pela técnica de expansão de Heaviside. A aplicação do método LTSn reduz a soluçào de um problema de autovalor, a solução de uma equação transcedental, possibilitando a obtenção de parâmetros críticos. Simulações numéricas são apresentadas.