Sympathetic arousal in children with oppositional defiant disorder and its relation to emotional dysregulation

Background: Emotional dysregulation (ED) is a trans-nosographical condition characterized by mood instability, severe irritability, aggression, temper outburst, and hyper-arousal. Pathophysiology of emotional dysregulation and its potential biomarkers are an emerging field of interest. A Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) profile, defined as Dysregulation Profile (DP), has been correlated to ED in youth. We examined the association between the CBCL-DP and indices of sympathetic arousal in children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and healthy controls. Method: The current study sought to compare the arousal level measured via electrodermal activity in response to emotional stimuli in three non-overlapping groups of children: (1) ODD+CBCL-DP (n = 28), (2) ODD without CBCL-DP (n = 35), and (3) typically developing controls (n = 25). Results: Analyses revealed a distinct electrodermal activity profile in the three groups. Specifically, children with ODD+CBCL-DP presented higher levels of sympathetic arousal for anger and sadness stimuli compared to the other two groups. Limitations: The relatively small sample and the lack of assessing causality limit the generalizability of this study which results need to be replicated in larger, different samples. Conclusion: The CBCL-DP was associated to higher levels of arousal for negative emotions, consistently with previous reports in individuals with depression and anxiety. Further work may identify potential longitudinal relationships between this profile and clinical outcomes

NETME: on-the-fly knowledge network construction from biomedical literature

Background: The rapidly increasing biological literature is a key resource to automatically extract and gain knowledge concerning biological elements and their relations. Knowledge Networks are helpful tools in the context of biological knowledge discovery and modeling. Results: We introduce a novel system called NETME, which, starting from a set of full-texts obtained from PubMed, through an easy-to-use web interface, interactively extracts biological elements from ontological databases and then synthesizes a network inferring relations among such elements. The results clearly show that our tool is capable of inferring comprehensive and reliable biological networks

Emergenze vegetali dell'Isola di Lampedusa

Per la peculiarit\ue0 storica, geografica ed ambientale l\u2019Isola di Lampedusa, e vista l\u2019estrema frammentariet\ue0 delle formazioni preforestali, l\u2019esiguit\ue0 dei popolamenti (e degli individui) delle specie legnose assumono un valore scientifico e conservazionistico particolarmente elevato. Per queste ragioni \ue8 stato fatto un censimento eseguito con strumentazione GPS. Sull\u2019isola crescono diverse specie di rilevante interesse conservazionistico, numerose sono infatti le specie endemiche, esclusive, rare e/o a rischio di estinzione perch\ue9 legate a habitat molto vulnerabili e localizzati. A questa ragione d\u2019interesse generale per questi taxa si somma il fatto che buona parte delle specie arboree tipiche della vegetazione primaria dell\u2019isola, il pi\uf9 delle volte sopravvivono localmente con popolamenti costituiti da pochissimi (e talora singoli!) individui. Juniperus turbinata e Olea europaea var. sylvestris sono le due specie forestali di gran lunga pi\uf9 comuni tra quelle indagate . Meno positivo \ue8 il risultato dell\u2019analisi della rinnovazione, che ha permesso di individuare appena una trentina di giovani individui di ginepro e nessuno di olivastro. La presenza delle due specie sull\u2019isola risulta circoscritta esclusivamente ai valloni stretti ed incisi che sboccano sulla costa meridionale dell\u2019isola, disegnando un complesso sistema in cui si alternano profonde insenature e pendii rocciosi subpianeggianti. Per ambedue le specie si \ue8 registrata una netta prevalenza (ca. 80% dei ginepri e ca. 95% degli olivastri!) in corrispondenza delle esposizioni meridionali dell\u2019isola che, sebbene pi\uf9 soleggiate godono dell\u2019effetto benefico dei venti umidi provenienti da meridione

Ionic Liquids–Cobalt(II) Thermochromic Complexes: How the Structure Tunability Affects “Self-Contained” Systems

With the aim of obtaining thermochromic systems with potential applications in solar energy storage, we evaluated the behavior of some sugar-based ionic liquids (ILs) 12Co(NTf2)2 complexes, in IL solution, as a function of temperature. Different structural changes on the cation, the nature of the anion, and the nature of the IL used as the solvent were considered. The analysis of the above factors was carried out through a combined approach of different techniques, that is, variable temperature UV 12vis and NMR spectroscopies, conductivity, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The thermochromic systems were analyzed both as solutions and as thin films, and the data collected highlight the defining role played by both the cation structure and the solvent nature in determining their performance. Most of the investigated systems show a chromogenic transition from pink to blue, occurring in a temperature range suitable for practical applications (40 1260 \ub0C). Interestingly, when embedded in a polymeric matrix, thin films with high recyclability and long life are also described

A review of wearable motion tracking systems used in rehabilitation following hip and knee replacement

Clinical teams are under increasing pressure to facilitate early hospital discharge for total hip replacement and total knee replacement patients following surgery. A wide variety of wearable devices are being marketed to assist with rehabilitation following surgery. A review of wearable devices was undertaken to assess the evidence supporting their efficacy in assisting rehabilitation following total hip replacement and total knee replacement. A search was conducted using the electronic databases including Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane, PsycARTICLES, and PubMed of studies from January 2000 to October 2017. Five studies met the eligibility criteria, and all used an accelerometer and a gyroscope for their technology. A review of the studies found very little evidence to support the efficacy of the technology, although they show that the use of the technology is feasible. Future work should establish which wearable technology is most valuable to patients, which ones improve patient outcomes, and the most economical model for deploying the technolog

Registro de movimientos oculares con el eye tracker Mobile eye XG

93 p.Debido a su importancia en la investigación sobre lo que sucede en el cerebro, el estudio sobre el sistema visual humano se ha especializado cada vez más para indagar sobre la influencia de los movimientos oculares en la percepción durante la observación. Con el fin de acceder a este tipo de procesos se ha diseñado un conjunto de herramientas que permiten hacer un seguimiento a los movimientos oculares, conocidos como eye trackers. Este libro tiene como objetivo aportar elementos para la planeación, el diseño y la ejecución de investigaciones que incluya el uso de eye trackers, en particular del eye tracker Mobile eye XG. Esta es una de las primeras revisiones en español que recopila información sobre los movimientos oculares. Contiene una descripción sobre el eye tracker Mobile eye XG y otros dispositivos; una revisión sobre la visión humana y los movimientos oculares; una reseña acerca de los determinantes cognoscitivos de los movimientos oculares; una aproximación a las condiciones para el diseño, la ejecución y el análisis de datos de las investigaciones con esta herramienta y una revisión sobre sus campos de aplicación.Technological advances in recent decades have made eye trackers, especially glasses, an important tool in the field of cognitive, emotional, and social neurosciences, due to the relationship that exists between visual behavior and neuronal processes. This has facilitated the study of a significant number of psychological processes, including perception, emotions, social cognition, decision making, attention, and literacy, among others. Eye trackers have been applied to research a wide range of human activities, including web page and application design and market studies, the visual behavior of drivers and athletes, human-computer interactions, simulations for military training, and as a support for the clinical diagnosis of personality disorders and neurological conditions. This book aims to provide elements for the planning, design, and execution of research that includes the use of eye trackers, in particular the Mobile Eye-XG eye tracker. This is one of the first reviews in Spanish that collects information on eye movements. The study contains a description of the Mobile Eye-XG eye tracker and other devices; a review of human vision and eye movements; a review of the cognitive determinants of eye movements; an exploration of the conditions that determine the design, execution, and data analysis of research that uses this tool, as well as a review of its fields of application.Introducción Parte 1. Descripción del eye tracker Mobile eye XG Parte 2. Visión humana y movimientos oculares Parte 3. Neurobiología de los movimientos oculares Parte 4. Determinantes cognoscitivos de las fijaciones y de los movimientos oculares Parte 5. Condiciones para el diseño y el registro de estudios con el eye tracker Mobile eye XG Parte 6. Análisis y representación gráfica de los datos Parte 7. Condiciones para el reporte de investigación Parte 8. Aplicaciones del eye tracking Referencias Anexo

Hormone-replacement therapy, dementia and stroke

Hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) has been used for more than 40 years to reduce perimenopausal symptoms. Estrogens may protect brain structures and functional systems affected by Alzheimer's disease, which suggests that maintaining high levels of hormones with HRT can protect against Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, high premenopausal estrogen concentrations are thought to be protective against stroke and, consequently, in the past, HRT was considered to be a potential protective agent against stroke. However, large clinical trials have failed to demonstrate a benefit from HRT on either cognitive performance or risk of dementia. In addition, although HRT has been associated with a reduction in the risk of heart disease in observational studies, results regarding stroke have been less clear. Recently, evidence has shown that HRT does not reduce but actually increases vascular risk. Here, the data from the most important studies are examined, concluding that HRT has no beneficial effect on dementia or stroke..