The benefit of multisensory integration with biological motion signals

Assessing intentions, direction, and velocity of others is necessary for most daily tasks, and such information is often made available by both visual and auditory motion cues. Therefore, it is not surprising our great ability to perceive human motion. Here, we explore the multisensory integration of cues of biological motion walking speed. After testing for audiovisual asynchronies (visual signals led auditory ones by 30ms in simultaneity temporal windows of 76.4ms), in the main experiment, visual, auditory, and bimodal stimuli were compared to a standard audiovisual walker in a velocity discrimination task. Results in variance reduction conformed to optimal integration of congruent bimodal stimuli across all subjects. Interestingly, the perceptual judgments were still close to optimal for stimuli at the smallest level of incongruence. Comparison of slopes allows us to estimate an integration window of about 60ms, which is smaller than that reported in audiovisual speech.This work was partly funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/36345/2007, PTDC/SAU-BEB/68455/2006, SFRH/BSAB/974/2009) and the Portugal-Spain Actions PT2009-0186 from the Spanish Government and E-134/10 from the Portuguese Conselho de Reitores das Universidades Portuguesas

The time to passage of biological and complex motion

A significant part of human interactions occur with other human beings and not only with inanimate objects. It is important in everyday tasks to estimate the time it takes other people to reach (time to contact) or pass us (time to passage). Surprisingly, little is known about judging time to contact or time to passage of biological or other complex motions. In two experiments, rigid and non-rigid (biological, inverted, scrambled, and complex non-biological) motion conditions were compared in a time-to-passage judgment task. Subjects could judge time to passage of point-light-walker displays. However, due to relative and opponent movements of body parts, all articulated patterns conveyed a noisier looming pattern. Non-rigid stimuli were judged as passing sooner than rigid stimuli but reflected more uncertainty in the judgments as revealed by precision judgments and required longer reaction times. Our findings suggested that perceptual judgments for complex motion, including biological patterns, are built on top of the same processing channels that are involved on rigid motion perception. The complexity of the motion pattern (rigid vs. non-rigid) plays a more determinant role than the "biologicity" of the stimulus (biological vs. non-biological), at least concerning time-to-passage judgments

The time to passage of biological and complex motion

A significant part of human interactions occur with other human beings and not only with inanimate objects. It is important in everyday tasks to estimate the time it takes other people to reach (time to contact) or pass us (time to passage). Surprisingly, little is known about judging time to contact or time to passage of biological or other complex motions. In two experiments, rigid and non-rigid (biological, inverted, scrambled, and complex non-biological) motion conditions were compared in a time-to-passage judgment task. Subjects could judge time to passage of point-light-walker displays. However, due to relative and opponent movements of body parts, all articulated patterns conveyed a noisier looming pattern. Non-rigid stimuli were judged as passing sooner than rigid stimuli but reflected more uncertainty in the judgments as revealed by precision judgments and required longer reaction times. Our findings suggested that perceptual judgments for complex motion, including biological patterns, are built on top of the same processing channels that are involved on rigid motion perception. The complexity of the motion pattern (rigid vs. non-rigid) plays a more determinant role than the “biologicity” of the stimulus (biological vs. non-biological), at least concerning time-to-passage judgments.Luso-Spanish Integrated Action funded by the Spanish and Portuguese governmentsFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Uncertainty in estimating time-to-passage revealed by reaction times

Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT

Efectos del consumo de matrices cárnicas modificadas sobre marcadores del metabolismo lipídico y oxidación hepática

En esta memoria de Tesis Doctoral se ha procedido a estudiar la estabilidad de las emulsiones dobles utilizando como fase oleosa el aceite de chía e incorporando hidroxitirosol encapsulado en la fase interna acuosa. Posteriormente estas emulsiones se han agregado a un sistema modelo cárnico a fin de evaluar la capacidad de las emulsiones para mejorar el perfil antioxidante y conocer si son una opción viable para alargar la vida útil de un producto cárnico con un perfil graso mejorado, pero potencialmente más peroxidable. Por último se procedió a estudiar la viabilidad de la utilización de derivados cárnicos potencialmente funcionales conteniendo tres tipos diferentes de ingredientes, aceite de chía, hidroxitirosol y silicio en ratas envejecidas, para conocer los efectos sobre diferentes aspectos del metabolismo lipoproteico, estrés oxidativo, resistencia a la insulina, y equilibrio lipogenético/lipolítico hepático que pudieran influir en el desarrollo de esteatosis hepática. Se realizaron estudios in vitro e in vivo. En los estudios in vitro se evaluaron las características físicas, estabilidad y la capacidad antioxidante y estado de peroxidación lipídica de las emulsiones y sistemas modelo cárnicos. En los estudios in vivo se emplearon ratas Wistar macho de 60 semanas de edad que se mantuvieron siguiendo los criterios éticos para la protección de animales de investigación científica. La dieta control (C), preparada a partir de la dieta semi-sintética modificada, sin colesterol añadido, a la que se incorpora el cárnico control sin enriquecer; la dieta control hipercolesterolemiante (HC), elaborada como la dieta C pero en este caso parte del almidón de maíz fue reemplazado por 1.26% de colesterol y 0.25% de ácido cólico; las dietas hipercolesterolemiantes con cárnicos enriquecidos con HxT, aceite de chía o silicio (HxT, CHIA, Si), similares a HC, pero que incorporan dentro del cárnico alguno de estos tres compuestos. Se evaluaron el estado de defensa antioxidante, los marcadores del metabolismo lipídico y resistencia a la insulina, y el perfil lipoproteico..

Time-to-passage estimation on periphery : better for biological motion?

In  previous  studies,  complex  motion  stimuli  were  judged  as  passing  sooner  than  rigid stimuli  but  reflected  more  uncertainty  in  the  judgments  as  revealed  by  precision  loss  and  longer reaction  times.  It  is  known  that  biological  motion  can  be  perceived  in  the  periphery .  In  the everyday  life  people  are  required  to  interact  with  or  to  estimate  motion  variables  of  other  agents located  on  the  periphery ,  at  different  locations  of  the  visual  field.  In  this  study ,  stimuli  were presented  in  different  peripheral  location  (16°,  32°  and  48°).  In  a  time-­to-­passage  (TTP)  task  rigid (RM),  biological  (BM)  and  scrambled  (SM)  motion  conditions  were  compared.  Seven  simulated velocities  were  combined  with  seven  starting  distances,  resulting  in  49  levels  of  TTP:  24 conditions  that  arrived  before  1s  and  24  that  arriving  after  1s.  Subjects  had  to  decide  whether the  point-‐‑light  walker  (PLW)  passed  the  eye  plane  before  or  after  a  reference  time  (1s)  signaled by  a  tone.  Subjects  could  judge  time  to  passage  of  PLW  peripherally  to  an  eccentricity  of  at  least 48o.  Judgments  for  complex  motion  patterns  (BM  and  SM)  showed  an  anticipation  of  the passage  combined  with  a  loss  of  precision  when  compared  with  RM,  at  eccentricity  16o.  The effect  of  eccentricity  on  precision  was  revealed  by  the  increase  of  SD  along  eccentricities  for SM.  The  TTP  judgment  seemed  to  become  less  precise  as  the  stimuli  were  displaced  farther along  the  peripheral  field.  For  BM,  an  improvement  on  precision  was  verified  at  eccentricity  32o, and  a  subsequent  deterioration  just  at  eccentricity  48o.  The  anticipation  of  the  passage  for  BM was  no  longer  found  on  periphery ,  while  the  differences  on  the  precision  between  BM  and  RM vanished.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Experience with the use of Rituximab for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in a tertiary Hospital in Spain: RITAR study

There is evidence supporting that there are no relevant clinical differences between dosing rituximab 1000 mg or 2000 mg per cycle in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients in clinical trials, and low-dose cycles seem to have a better safety profile. Our objective was to describe the pattern of use of rituximab in real-life practice conditions. Methods: Rituximab for RA in clinical practice (RITAR) study is a retrospective cohort study from 2005 to 2015. Eligibility criteria were RA adults treated with rituximab for active articular disease. Response duration was the main outcome defined as months elapsed from the date of rituximab first infusion to the date of flare. A multivariable analysis was performed to determine the variables associated with response duration. Results: A total of 114 patients and 409 cycles were described, 93.0% seropositive and 80.7% women. Rituximab was mainly used as second-line biological therapy. On demand retreatment was used in 94.6% of cases versus fixed 6 months retreatment in 5.4%. Median response duration to on demand rituximab cycles was 10 months (interquartile range, 7–13). Multivariable analysis showed that age older than 65 years, number of rituximab cycles, seropositivity, and first- or second-line therapy were associated with longer response duration. The dose administered at each cycle was not significantly associated with response duration. Conclusions: Our experience suggests that 1000 mg rituximab single infusion on demand is a reasonable schedule for long-term treatment of those patients with good response after the first cycles, especially in seropositive patients and when it is applied as a first- or second-line biological therap

Association between NAT2 polymorphisms with non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate in Argentina

Background: NAT genes are considered candidate genes for the genetic predisposition to non-syndromic Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCLP), since they codify for N-acetyltransferases, enzymes responsible for the biotransformation of arylamines, hydrazine drugs, and a great number of toxins and carcinogens present in diet, cigarette smoke, and environment. Aim: To determine the association between alleles determining slow acetylator phenotype and the risk of NSCLP. Material and methods: We analyzed *5 (481C>T), *6 (590G>A) and *7 (857G>A) alleles which determine the slow acetylator phenotype and *4 (wild type) allele by polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism in 97 progenitor-case trios of NSCLP in Argentinian Obstetric Wards. We evaluated the transmission disequilibrium (TDT). Results: TDT showed a positive association between allele *5 and NSCLP (odds ratio=1.6; p=0.03). Conclusions: The presence of *5 allele is significantly higher in cases with congenital NSCLP.Fil: Santos, María Rita. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ramallo, Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: Muzzio, Marina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; ArgentinaFil: López Camelo, Jorge Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; Argentina. Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas “Norberto Quirno”; ArgentinaFil: Bailliet, Graciela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celular; Argentin

Asociación entre polimorfismos del gen NAT2 y fisura labiopalatina no sindrómica en Argentina

Background: NAT genes are considered candidate genes for the genetic predisposition to non-syndromic Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCLP), since they codify for N-acetyltransferases, enzymes responsible for the biotransformation of arylamines, hydrazine drugs, and a great number of toxins and carcinogens present in diet, cigarette smoke, and environment. Aim: To determine the association between alleles determining slow acetylator phenotype and the risk of NSCLP. Material and methods: We analyzed *5 (481C>T), *6 (590G>A) and *7 (857G>A) alleles which determine the slow acetylator phenotype and *4 (wild type) allele by polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism in 97 progenitor-case trios of NSCLP in Argentinian Obstetric Wards. We evaluated the transmission disequilibrium (TDT). Results: TDT showed a positive association between allele *5 and NSCLP (odds ratio=1.6; p=0.03). Conclusions: The presence of *5 allele is significantly higher in cases with congenital NSCLP

Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OTSCC): alcohol and tobacco consumption versus non-consumption. A Study in a Portuguese population.

There has been an increase in the incidence of carcinoma of the tongue, particularly among alcohol and tobacco non-users. However, he number of studies that would allow a better understanding of etiological factors and clinical features, particularly in the Portuguese population, is very limited. This study was based on patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anterior two thirds of the tongue that were treated at the Department of Head and Neck Surgery of the "Instituto Portugues de Oncologia de Lisboa - Francisco Gentil" (IPOLFG) in Lisbon, Portugal, between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2009. The patients were divided in alcohol and tobacco users and non-users in order to evaluate the differences between these 2 groups based on gender, age, tumor location, denture use, and tumor size, metastasis and stage. Of the 354 cases, 208 were users and 146 were non-users. The main location in both groups was the lateral border of the tongue. Denture use showed no significant effect in both study groups. It was possible to conclude that patients who did not drink or smoke were older and presented with smaller tumor size, lower incidence of ganglion metastasis and lower tumor stage compared with alcohol and tobacco users