49 research outputs found
Non-L\'evy mobility patterns of Mexican Me'Phaa peasants searching for fuelwood
We measured mobility patterns that describe walking trajectories of
individual Me'Phaa peasants searching and collecting fuelwood in the forests of
"La Monta\~na de Guerrero" in Mexico. These one-day excursions typically follow
a mixed pattern of nearly-constant steps when individuals displace from their
homes towards potential collecting sites and a mixed pattern of steps of
different lengths when actually searching for fallen wood in the forest.
Displacements in the searching phase seem not to be compatible with L\'evy
flights described by power-laws with optimal scaling exponents. These findings
however can be interpreted in the light of deterministic searching on heavily
degraded landscapes where the interaction of the individuals with their scarce
environment produces alternative searching strategies than the expected L\'evy
flights. These results have important implications for future management and
restoration of degraded forests and the improvement of the ecological services
they may provide to their inhabitants.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. First version submitted to Human Ecology. The
final publication will be available at http://www.springerlink.co
Shortened Version of the Token Test: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population
Lead, Cadmium and Cobalt (Pb, Cd, and Co) Leaching of Glass-Clay Containers by pH Effect of Food
Recent studies have shown that handcrafted glass-clay containers are a health risk because they can be contaminated by heavy metals, which can be transferred to food, thus reaching the human body to potentially cause illness. Therefore, in the present work, we evaluate the leaching of lead, cadmium, and cobalt from glass-clay containers into two types of food: tomato sauce (salsa), and chickpea puree. The containers were obtained from four regions in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. Repetitive extractions from the containers were carried out to quantify the leaching of the heavy metals into the salsa, the chickpea puree, and acetic acid using the technique proposed by the USFDA. The results show that greater use of the containers leads to more leaching of heavy metals into both types of food and into the acetic acid, with the greatest metal extraction recorded for the Ixmiquilpan vessels. These results indicate that the metals present in the glass-clay containers leach into the food and that increased reuse increases the risk to the people who use them in food preparation
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population
OBJECTIVE: To generate normative data for the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III (PPVT-III) in Spanish-speaking
pediatric populations.
METHOD: The sample consisted of 4,373 healthy children from nine countries in Latin America (Chile, Cuba, Ecuador,
Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Puerto Rico) and Spain. Each participant was administered the PPVT-III
as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. PPVT-III scores were normed using multiple linear regressions and standard
deviations of residual values. Age, age2, sex, and mean level of parental education (MLPE) were included as predictors in
the analyses.
RESULTS: The final multiple linear regression models showed main effects for age in all countries, such that scores increased
linearly as a function of age. In addition, age2 had a significant effect in all countries, except Guatemala and Paraguay. Models
showed that children whose parent(s) had a MLPE >12 years obtained higher scores compared to children whose parent(s)
had a MLPE ≤12 years in all countries, except for Cuba, Peru, and Puerto Rico. Sex affected scores for Chile, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Mexico, and Spain.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest Spanish-speaking pediatric normative study in the world, and it will allow neuropsychologists from these countries to have a more accurate interpretation of the PPVT-III when used in pediatric populations
Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (M-WCST): Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population
OBJECTIVE: To generate normative data for the Modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (M-WCST) in Spanish-speaking
pediatric populations.
METHOD: The sample consisted of 4,373 healthy children from nine countries in Latin America (Chile, Cuba, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Puerto Rico) and Spain. Each participant was administered the M-WCST
as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. Number of categories, perseverative errors, and total error scores were normed
using multiple linear regressions and standard deviations of residual values. Age, age2, sex, and mean level of parental
education (MLPE) were included as predictors in the analyses.
RESULTS: The final multiple linear regression models indicated main effects for age on all scores, such that the number
of categories correct increased and total number of perseverative errors and total number of errors decrease linearly as a
function of age. Age2 had a significant effect in Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, and Spain for numbers of categories; a significant
effect for number of perseverative errors in Chile, Cuba, Mexico, and Spain; and a significant effect for number of total
errors in Chile, Cuba, Peru, and Spain. Models showed an effect for MLPE in Cuba (total errors), Ecuador (categories and
total errors), Mexico (all scores), Paraguay (perseverative errors and total error), and Spain (categories and total errors). Sex
affected number of total errors for Ecuador.
CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest Spanish-speaking pediatric normative study in the world, and it will allow neuropsychologists from these countries to have a more accurate way to interpret the M-WCST with pediatric populations
Verbal fluency tests: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population
OBJECTIVE: To generate normative data for the phonological and semantic verbal fluency tests (VFT) in Spanish-speaking pediatric populations. METHOD: The sample consisted of 4,373 healthy children from nine countries in Latin America (Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Puerto Rico) and Spain. Each participant was administered the VFT as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. Scores for letters F, A, S, and animals and fruit categories were normed using multiple linear regressions and standard deviations of residual values. Age, age2, sex, and mean level of parental education (MLPE) were included as predictors in the analyses. RESULTS: The final multiple linear regression models showed main effects for age on all scores, such that scores increased linearly as a function of age. Age2 had a significant effect in Chile (animals), Cuba (A letter, fruits), Ecuador (animals, fruits), Honduras (F letter), Mexico (animals, fruits), Peru (fruits), and Spain (S letters, animals, fruits). Models showed an effect for MLPE in Chile (A letters, animals, fruits), Ecuador (S letter, animals, fruits), Guatelama (F, S letter, animals), Honduras (animals), Mexico (F, A, S letters, animals, fruits), Puerto Rico (A, letters, animals), and Spain (all scores). Sex scores were found significant in Chile (animals), Ecuador (A letter, fruits), Mexico (F letter, fruits), Paraguay (F, A, S letters, fruits), Puerto Rico (F letter, animals, fruits), and Spain (F letter, fruits). CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest multi-national Spanish speaking-pediatric normative study in the world, and as such it will allow neuropsychologists from these countries to have a more accurate way to interpret the phonological and semantic VFT in pediatric populations
Newly developed Learning and Verbal Memory Test (TAMV-I): Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population
OBJECTIVE: To generate normative data for the Learning and Verbal Memory Test (TAMV-I) in Spanish-speaking pediatric populations. METHOD: The sample consisted of 4,373 healthy children from nine countries in Latin America (Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Puerto Rico) and Spain. Each participant was administered the TAMV-I as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. Free recall, memory delay and recognition scores were normed using multiple linear regressions and standard deviations of residual values. Age, age2, sex, and mean level of parental education (MLPE) were included as predictors in the analyses. RESULTS: The final multiple linear regression models indicated main effects for age on all scores, such that scores increased linearly as a function of age. Age2 had a significant effect in all countries except Cuba, and Puerto Rico for free recall score; a significant effect for memory delay score in all countries except Cuba and Puerto Rico; and a significant effect for recognition score in in all countries except Guatemala, Honduras, and Puerto Rico. Models showed an effect for MLPE in Chile (free recall), Honduras (free recall), Mexico (free recall), Puerto Rico (free recall, memory delay, and recognition), and Spain (free recall and memory delay). Sex affected free recall score for Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Spain, memory delay score for all countries except Chile, Paraguay, and Puerto Rico, and recognition score for Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Spain, with girls scoring higher than boys. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest Spanish-speaking pediatric normative study in the world, and it will allow neuropsychologists from these countries to have a more accurate way to interpret the TAMV-I with pediatric populations
Shortened Version of the Token Test: Normative data for Spanish-speaking pediatric population
OBJECTIVE: To generate normative data for the Shortened Version of the Token Test in Spanish-speaking pediatric populations. METHOD: The sample consisted of 4,373 healthy children from nine countries in Latin America (Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Puerto Rico) and Spain. Each participant was administered the Shortened Version of the Token Test as part of a larger neuropsychological battery. Shortened Version of the Token Test total scores were normed using multiple linear regressions and standard deviations of residual values. Age, age2, sex, and mean level of parental education (MLPE) were included as predictors in the analyses. RESULTS: The final multiple linear regression models showed main effects for age in all countries, such that score increased linearly as a function of age. In addition, age2 had a significant effect in all countries, except Guatemala and Puerto Rico. Models showed that children whose parent(s) had a MLPE >12 years obtained higher score compared to children whose parents had a MLPE ≤12 years in Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Spain. The child’s sex did not have an effect in the Shortened Version of the Token Test total score for any of the countries. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest Spanish-speaking pediatric normative study in the world, and it will allow neuropsychologists from these countries to have a more accurate interpretation of the Shortened Version of the Token Test when used in pediatric populations