Nonanimal stabilized hyaluronic acid for tissue augmentation of the dorsal hands: a prospective study on 38 patients

BACKGROUND Often ignored, hands are one of the most telltale signs of aging. This prospective study was initiated to evaluate the effect of subcutaneous hyaluronic acid (HA) injections in aging hands, with special attention to complications and long-term outcomes. METHODS Between January 2010 and December 2010, a total of 38 patients with skin phototypes II-IV and between 58 and 76 years old were treated with HA injection for aging hands. The quantity of injection never exceeded 1.0-1.5 ml HA per hand. A clinical follow-up was performed at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after injection. Complications were reviewed for the whole series. At the first follow-up, 2 weeks after the procedure, ultrasound was carried out to determine if additional filling material was required. At each follow-up, patients were asked to fill out a satisfaction questionnaire. RESULTS Nine patients developed slight ecchymosis that disappeared after 1 week. No other complications were seen in the series. Pain during the injection and discomfort after the procedure were minimal. At the 2-week follow-up, after ultrasound control, nine patients received a complementary injection. At each follow-up, overall patient satisfaction was high and was validated by clearance of rhytids, veins, bony prominences, and dermal and subcutaneous atrophy. CONCLUSION Skin revitalization with injectable HA can improve the clinical appearance of the back of the hands. However, this therapy requires knowledge of the possible complications and their remediation as well as knowledge and respect of injected doses. Moreover, despite excellent results at each follow-up, the results of our series are not as good after 6 months, and a longer follow-up would be needed to determine if this procedure provides long-lasting benefit. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE III This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Orthostatic hypotension in Parkinson's disease: association with cognitive decline?

BACKGROUND Orthostatic hypotension is common in Lewy body disorders and may be related to disease progression and the spread of Lewy body pathology. We therefore hypothesize that PD patients with orthostatic hypotension (OH) have a different cognitive profile compared to PD patients without OH. METHODS This cross-sectional study included 175 PD patients. Blood pressure (BP) was measured with a validated digital blood pressure monitor and patients with a systolic BP drop of > or =20 mmHg or a systolic pressure of <90 mm Hg after standing were considered to have OH. Cognition was assessed using MMSE extended by a selection of computerized cognitive tests focusing on reaction time, sustained attention, working memory and episodic verbal and visual memory. RESULTS Eighty-seven (49.7%) of the PD patients had OH. These patients were significantly more impaired in sustained attention and visual episodic memory compared to PD patients without OH. CONCLUSION We conclude that there are differences in the neuropsychological performance of patients with PD and OH, supporting the hypothesis that OH might be a marker for disease progression and cognitive decline in PD.

It's about time: Current directions in prospective memory

Prospective memory is the ability to plan, to retain and to carry out an intention as planned. It is an important function for leading an autonomous life and only recently research has started to investigate developmental aspects in particular related to attention, executive functions and metacognition. In this symposium, this research is emphasized. In addition, new experimental research on the impact of implementation intentions and importance will be presented.

Neurocognitive deficits in children with brain tumors at diagnosis

Survivors of brain tumors are faced with a high risk for a wide range of cognitive problems and learning difficulties. These problems are caused by the lesion itself and its surgical removal as well as by the treatments to follow (chemo- and/or radiation therapy). A few recent studies have indicated that children with brain tumors (BT) might exhibit cognitive problems already at diagnosis, i.e. before the start of any medical treatment. The aim of the present study was to investigate the "baseline" neuropsychological profile in children with BT in comparison to children with an oncological diagnosis not involving the central nervous system (CNS). 20 children with BT and 27 children with an oncological disease without involvement of the CNS (age range: 6.1 to 16.9 years) were evaluated with an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests tailored to the patient's age. Furthermore, the child and its parents completed self-report questionnaires about emotional functioning and quality of life. In both groups, tests were administered before any therapeutic intervention such as surgery, chemotherapy or irradiation. Groups were comparable regarding age, gender and social economic status. Compared to the CG, patients with BTs performed significantly worse in tests of working memory, verbal memory and attention. In contrast the areas of perceptual reasoning, processing speed and verbal comprehension were preserved at this time. Younger children with BT were especially disadvantaged. Compared to aged matched children with malignancies not involving the CNS and older BT patients the young BT patients showed deficits in attention, working memory and verbal memory measures. Our results highlight the need for cognitive assessments and interventions early in the treatment process in order to minimize or even prevent academic difficulties as patients return to school.

Impacts of a word-picture training on reading in youth with mixed intellectual disabilities. A waiting-list control group comparison

Individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) often struggle with learning how to read. Reading difficulties seem to be the most common secondary condition of ID. Only one in five children with mild or moderate ID achieves even minimal literacy skills. However, literacy education for children and adolescents with ID has been largely overlooked by researchers and educators. While there is little research on reading of children with ID, many training studies have been conducted with other populations with reading difficulties. The most common approach of acquiring literacy skills consists of sophisticated programs that train phonological skills and auditory perception. Only few studies investigated the influence of implicit learning on literacy skills. Implicit learning processes seem to be largely independent of age and IQ. Children are sensitive to the statistics of their learning environment. By frequent word reading they acquire implicit knowledge about the frequency of single letters and letter patterns in written words. Additionally, semantic connections not only improve the word understanding, but also facilitate storage of words in memory. Advances in communication technology have introduced new possibilities for remediating literacy skills. Computers can provide training material in attractive ways, for example through animations and immediate feedback .These opportunities can scaffold and support attention processes central to learning. Thus, the aim of this intervention study was to develop and implement a computer based word-picture training, which is based on statistical and semantic learning, and to examine the training effects on reading, spelling and attention in children and adolescents (9-16 years) diagnosed with mental retardation (general IQ  74). Fifty children participated in four to five weekly training sessions of 15-20 minutes over 4 weeks, and completed assessments of attention, reading, spelling, short-term memory and fluid intelligence before and after training. After a first assessment (T1), the entire sample was divided in a training group (group A) and a waiting control group (group B). After 4 weeks of training with group A, a second assessment (T2) was administered with both training groups. Afterwards, group B was trained for 4 weeks, before a last assessment (T3) was carried out in both groups. Overall, the results showed that the word-picture training led to substantial gains on word decoding and attention for both training groups. These effects were preserved six weeks later (group A). There was also a clear tendency of improvement in spelling after training for both groups, although the effect did not reach significance. These findings highlight the fact that an implicit statistical learning training in a playful way by motivating computer programs can not only promote reading development, but also attention in children with intellectual disabilities.

The World of Indicators. The Making of Governmental Knowledge through Quantification

The twenty-first century has seen a further dramatic increase in the use of quantitative knowledge for governing social life after its explosion in the 1980s. Indicators and rankings play an increasing role in the way governmental and non-governmental organizations distribute attention, make decisions, and allocate scarce resources. Quantitative knowledge promises to be more objective and straightforward as well as more transparent and open for public debate than qualitative knowledge, thus producing more democratic decision-making. However, we know little about the social processes through which this knowledge is constituted nor its effects. Understanding how such numeric knowledge is produced and used is increasingly important as proliferating technologies of quantification alter modes of knowing in subtle and often unrecognized ways. This book explores the implications of the global multiplication of indicators as a specific technology of numeric knowledge production used in governance. Combination of insights from anthropology of law, history of science, science and technology studies, sociology of quantification, economics and geography will appeal to those who are uncomfortable with the separation between 'theoretical' and 'empirical' approaches and with the current weakness of critique that address the main trends shaping the relations between capitalism, markets, law and democracy Theoretical discussion of the nature and historical formation of quantification will appeal to those who ask questions such as, 'What is new or different about our contemporary reliance on quantitative knowledge?' Groundbreaking empirical case studies uncover the social work and politics that often go into the making of indicators and explore the far-reaching effects and impacts of these numerical representations in specific settings

Perceptions of critical situations involving football fans: the dynamics of conflict escalation or de-escalation

Fan violence in the context of football matches has drawn the attention of stakeholders and the media. This phenomenon has also attracted the scientific community’s attention, where research mostly focused on reasons for violence escalation. The Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM; Drury & Reicher, 2000) for example focuses on group-interactions and social identities, while the Aggravation Mitigation Model (AM model; Hylander & Guvå, 2010) concentrates on factors contributing to an escalation or a non-escalation of group-violence. However individual perceptions of the different persons involved in potential conflicts have not been sufficiently examined. Beside of that research in domestic football or involving ultrafans is scarce. Especially in Switzerland, there is a lack of research concerning the dynamics of the development or non-development of fan violence. This exploratory study included eight critical situations from the season 2012/2013 of the Swiss premier league to gather data about the perceptions of various persons involved (fans, police officers or security) and the dynamics contributing towards escalation or de-escalation. Fifty-nine narrative interviews were conducted and analysed with interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). The individuals involved (fans, police and security personnel) showed groupspecific perceptions and a tendency to stereotype the opponent group. Provocative symbols (balaclavas or riot-gear uniforms) were important for the interpretation of the situation. No escalation occurred when successful communication and sufficient distance between the groups was established. Knowledge about the local fan culture is important, because it influences the perception of legitimacy on the side of the fans. This study improves the understanding of fan violence and is congruent with the ESIM and the AM model. It is suggested to deploy police dialogue teams without riot gear. Their task is to establish direct communication with the fans to facilitate a peaceful ending of a critical situation.

Lengua y Literatura : Disciplina escolar. Hacia una metodología circunstanciada de su enseñanza

La metodología circunstanciada de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura desarrollada y argumentada a lo largo de esta investigación se presenta como un modo de renegociar los encastres de perspectivas de las didácticas de la lengua o la literatura que hoy muestran en la Argentina su historia de entramados y superposiciones de diversos estatutos de saberes. Estas reconfiguraciones, estudiadas en las últimas cuatro décadas, no son ajenas a las coyunturas políticas, ni a los mecanismos de reproducción y producción de la cultura escolar y del sistema educativo, expresados en las particularidades de la disciplina escolar. Por ello, esta metodología se articula en tres fundamentos que no sobreimprimen nuevas prerrogativas didácticas a las reconfiguraciones de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura que actualmente encarnan la disciplina escolar y el sistema educativo en tres de sus niveles [primario, pero con especial atención al secundario e ingresos a la educación superior]. Básicamente, y más allá de sus matices, se trata de reconfiguraciones que develan la reificación de la lectura y la escritura como contenidos de enseñanza en nombre de criterios de utilidad y realidad para los docentes y alumnos. Así, se explica que los efectos de este estado de situación van consolidando un vacío metodológico revelado a través de relatos que permiten recuperar una historia reciente de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura en la Argentina, de los devenires de cada una de sus perspectivas, que, en apariencia, no se cruzarían. Sin embargo, puestos en relación, muestran los hechos en los que esas perspectivas se conjugaron, acaso conjuraron, e iniciaron sus complejas, y, a veces, no tan nítidas, alianzas. No obstante, ninguna perspectiva se impone por completo. Mirados sus efectos desde el trabajo docente, se encuentra un encastre entre el textualismo cognitivista, la psicogénesis y la más reciente perspectiva sociocultural e histórica, que abonan a una argamasa de saberes desestabilizadores de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura como rito de institución. Por el contrario, con sus prerrogativas siempre articuladas en retóricas de "cómo debe ser la mejor enseñanza" de la lengua y la literatura, de la lectura y la escritura, suman categorías, conceptos, recortes de líneas teóricas, investigaciones, por lo general, todos disímiles, para remodelarlos en orientaciones por demás distantes y ajenas a las realizaciones cotidianas del trabajo docente.Los fundamentos aquí planteados, entonces, se circunstancian en los modos en que docentes y alumnos dicen que se realiza la enseña de la lengua y la literatura. Asimismo, se expone que una idea de cambio radical no es pertinente para la comprensión de prácticas/acciones sociales como las educativas institucionales, y que, en realidad, es necesario recuperar en sentido estricto, y de las teorías sociales, la noción de cambio como variación de la reproducción y producción social. Por lo tanto, los postulados desarrollados para una metodología circunstanciada de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura están pensados en ese orden de la variación y no del aplastamiento de los sentidos que, histórica y culturalmente, la constituyen e instituyen

Rehacer la memoria. Cultura y fascismo en la España domocrática

La revisión del fascismo literario español en la democracia fue un asunto más atractivo para los escritores jóvenes y nuevos de la década de los setenta y ochenta que para los medios universitarios. Sin embargo, los últimos cinco o diez años han mostrado un aumento sustancial de la atención: las reediciones y los estudios sobre las obras de autores fascistas han dado continuidad al trabajo pionero de José Carlos Mainer, y tomando así el relevo de lo que había sido la curiosidad estética y literaria por el falangismo de Francisco Umbral, Andrés Trapiello, Miguel Sánchez-Ostiz o José Carlos Llop.

Guidance in the diversity: a glance from Latin America

Guidance and Diversity, for the majority of the European countries and North America , are related to the attention to children and young people with special necessities, that are attend in an educative institution and for those who are elaborated educative programs directed to obtain one better adaptation to the prevailing social system. In most of the cases is considered that the problematic of the special necessities is imputable to genetic or personal factors that only respond to internal factors to the individuals that display them avoiding the external factors that in some cases can be more decisive determinants at the time of the conductual manifestation. In this work is pleaded because the professionals of the Guidance, as much private or public scenes of the European countries, make more specific considerations at the time of taking care of children, young people and adults, as immigrants, coming of Latin America . In an ample sense one sets out to make Guidance in the Diversity more than Guidance for the Diversity under the conception of a Guidance for All which implies the elimination of the expression "special necessities", whose connotation in our countries is not most appropriate, and than it includes the idea of an Ethnic Guidance. Perhaps the best way of boarding of these conceptions is promoting a process of Guidance from the School and not only in the School.

Estructuras agrarias comparadas: la Puna argentina y el sur boliviano a comienzos del siglo XX

Este artículo tiene por propósito realizar un aporte más al conocimiento de la problemática socio-económica de la Puna argentina, específicamente a su estructura agraria, atendiendo los cambios y permanencias relativos a la propiedad y tenencia de la tierra, clave del poder económico y social y eje fundamental en las relaciones de producción de esta sociedad agraria. Se trata la cuestión en el marco de la problemática de las tierras indígenas, comparando la situación del Norte argentino con la del Sur boliviano, analizando las políticas de ambos Estados en torno a la tierra de las comunidades y sus efectos en las estructuras agrarias de comienzos del siglo XX.

Lengua y Literatura : Disciplina escolar. Hacia una metodología circunstanciada de su enseñanza

La metodología circunstanciada de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura desarrollada y argumentada a lo largo de esta investigación se presenta como un modo de renegociar los encastres de perspectivas de las didácticas de la lengua o la literatura que hoy muestran en la Argentina su historia de entramados y superposiciones de diversos estatutos de saberes. Estas reconfiguraciones, estudiadas en las últimas cuatro décadas, no son ajenas a las coyunturas políticas, ni a los mecanismos de reproducción y producción de la cultura escolar y del sistema educativo, expresados en las particularidades de la disciplina escolar. Por ello, esta metodología se articula en tres fundamentos que no sobreimprimen nuevas prerrogativas didácticas a las reconfiguraciones de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura que actualmente encarnan la disciplina escolar y el sistema educativo en tres de sus niveles [primario, pero con especial atención al secundario e ingresos a la educación superior]. Básicamente, y más allá de sus matices, se trata de reconfiguraciones que develan la reificación de la lectura y la escritura como contenidos de enseñanza en nombre de criterios de utilidad y realidad para los docentes y alumnos. Así, se explica que los efectos de este estado de situación van consolidando un vacío metodológico revelado a través de relatos que permiten recuperar una historia reciente de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura en la Argentina, de los devenires de cada una de sus perspectivas, que, en apariencia, no se cruzarían. Sin embargo, puestos en relación, muestran los hechos en los que esas perspectivas se conjugaron, acaso conjuraron, e iniciaron sus complejas, y, a veces, no tan nítidas, alianzas. No obstante, ninguna perspectiva se impone por completo. Mirados sus efectos desde el trabajo docente, se encuentra un encastre entre el textualismo cognitivista, la psicogénesis y la más reciente perspectiva sociocultural e histórica, que abonan a una argamasa de saberes desestabilizadores de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura como rito de institución. Por el contrario, con sus prerrogativas siempre articuladas en retóricas de "cómo debe ser la mejor enseñanza" de la lengua y la literatura, de la lectura y la escritura, suman categorías, conceptos, recortes de líneas teóricas, investigaciones, por lo general, todos disímiles, para remodelarlos en orientaciones por demás distantes y ajenas a las realizaciones cotidianas del trabajo docente.Los fundamentos aquí planteados, entonces, se circunstancian en los modos en que docentes y alumnos dicen que se realiza la enseña de la lengua y la literatura. Asimismo, se expone que una idea de cambio radical no es pertinente para la comprensión de prácticas/acciones sociales como las educativas institucionales, y que, en realidad, es necesario recuperar en sentido estricto, y de las teorías sociales, la noción de cambio como variación de la reproducción y producción social. Por lo tanto, los postulados desarrollados para una metodología circunstanciada de la enseñanza de la lengua y la literatura están pensados en ese orden de la variación y no del aplastamiento de los sentidos que, histórica y culturalmente, la constituyen e instituyen

Rehacer la memoria. Cultura y fascismo en la España domocrática

La revisión del fascismo literario español en la democracia fue un asunto más atractivo para los escritores jóvenes y nuevos de la década de los setenta y ochenta que para los medios universitarios. Sin embargo, los últimos cinco o diez años han mostrado un aumento sustancial de la atención: las reediciones y los estudios sobre las obras de autores fascistas han dado continuidad al trabajo pionero de José Carlos Mainer, y tomando así el relevo de lo que había sido la curiosidad estética y literaria por el falangismo de Francisco Umbral, Andrés Trapiello, Miguel Sánchez-Ostiz o José Carlos Llop.

Guidance in the diversity: a glance from Latin America

Guidance and Diversity, for the majority of the European countries and North America , are related to the attention to children and young people with special necessities, that are attend in an educative institution and for those who are elaborated educative programs directed to obtain one better adaptation to the prevailing social system. In most of the cases is considered that the problematic of the special necessities is imputable to genetic or personal factors that only respond to internal factors to the individuals that display them avoiding the external factors that in some cases can be more decisive determinants at the time of the conductual manifestation. In this work is pleaded because the professionals of the Guidance, as much private or public scenes of the European countries, make more specific considerations at the time of taking care of children, young people and adults, as immigrants, coming of Latin America . In an ample sense one sets out to make Guidance in the Diversity more than Guidance for the Diversity under the conception of a Guidance for All which implies the elimination of the expression "special necessities", whose connotation in our countries is not most appropriate, and than it includes the idea of an Ethnic Guidance. Perhaps the best way of boarding of these conceptions is promoting a process of Guidance from the School and not only in the School.

Estructuras agrarias comparadas: la Puna argentina y el sur boliviano a comienzos del siglo XX

Este artículo tiene por propósito realizar un aporte más al conocimiento de la problemática socio-económica de la Puna argentina, específicamente a su estructura agraria, atendiendo los cambios y permanencias relativos a la propiedad y tenencia de la tierra, clave del poder económico y social y eje fundamental en las relaciones de producción de esta sociedad agraria. Se trata la cuestión en el marco de la problemática de las tierras indígenas, comparando la situación del Norte argentino con la del Sur boliviano, analizando las políticas de ambos Estados en torno a la tierra de las comunidades y sus efectos en las estructuras agrarias de comienzos del siglo XX.