Clinical And Neuropsychological Correlation In Patients With Rolandic Epilepsy [correlação Entre Achados Clínicos E Neuropsicológicos Em Pacientes Com Epilepsia Rolândica]

Objectives: To evaluate the presence of neurological soft signs (NSS) and to correlate them with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC III) in patients with rolandic epilepsy (RE). Methods: Forty children and adolescents aged between 9 and 15 years were studied. They were divided into two groups: G1 - patients with RE (n=20) - and G2 - healthy controls without epilepsy (n=20). They were assessed with the Quick Neurological Screening Test (QNST II) - clinical trial to search for NSS -, and the WISC III - neuropsychological test. Results: No statistical difference between groups was found in WISC III and QNST II. However, children with poorer motor skills had worse performance in the QNST II and also in the execution intelligence quotient - IQ (p=0.001) and in total IQ (p=0.004), thus showing a positive correlation between them. Conclusions: The QNST II is a good screening tool for the neurologist to detect abnormalities in fine motor skills.709691693Berg, A.T., Berkovic, S.F., Brodie, M.J., Revised terminology and concepts for organization of seizures and epilepsies: Report of the ILAE Commission on Classification and Terminology, 2005-2009 (2010) Epilepsia, 51, pp. 676-685Lerman, P., Kivity, S., Benign focal epilepsy of childhood. A follow-up study of 100 recovered patients (1975) Arch Neurol, 32, pp. 261-264Bouma, P.A., Bovenkerk, A.C., Westendorp, R.G., Brouwer, O.F., The course of benign partial epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes: A meta-analysis (1997) Neurology, 48 (2), pp. 430-437Hommet, C., Billard, C., Motte, J., Cognitive function in adolescents and young adults in complete remission from benign childhood epilepsy with centro-temporal spikes (2001) Epileptic Disord, 3, pp. 207-216D'Alessandro, P., Piccirilli, M., Tiacci, C., Neuropsychological features of benign partial epilepsy in children (1990) Ital J Neurol Sci, 11, pp. 265-269Binnie, C.D., Marston, D., Cognitive correlates of interictal discharges (1992) Epilepsia, 33 (SUPPL. 6), pp. S11-S17Fonseca, L.C., Tedrus, G.M., Pacheco, E.M., Epileptiform EEG discharges in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes: Reactivity and transitory cognitive impairment (2007) Epilepsy Behav, 11, pp. 65-70Baglietto, M.G., Battaglia, F.M., Nobili, N., Neuropsychological disorders related to interictal epileptic discharges during sleep in benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal or rolandic spikes (2001) Dev Med Child Neurol, 43, pp. 407-412Hermann, B.P., Jones, J., Sheth, R., Seidenberg, M., Cognitive and magnetic resonance volumetric abnormalities in new-onset pediatric epilepsy (2007) Semin Pediatri Neurol, 14, pp. 173-180Panayiotopoulos, C.P., Benign childhood partial epilepsies: Benign childhood seizures susceptibility syndromes (1993) J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry, 56, pp. 2-5Lindgren, A., Kihlgren, M., Melin, L., Croona, C., Development of cognitive functions in children with rolandic epilepsy (2004) Epilepsy Behav, 5, pp. 903-910Weglage, J., Demsky, A., Pietsh, M., Kurlemann, G., Neuropsychological, intellectual, and behavioral findings in patients with centrotemporal spikes with and without seizure (1997) Dev Med Child Neurol, 39, pp. 645-651Deonna, T., Rolandic epilepsy: Neuropsychology of the active epilepsy phase (2000) Epileptic Disord, 2 (SUPPL. 1), pp. S59-S61Deonna, T., Zesiger, P., Davidoff, V., Benign partial epilepsy of childhood: A longitudinal neuropsychological and EEG study of cognitive function (2000) Dev Med Child Neurol, 42, pp. 595-60

U(N) spinning particles and higher spin equations on complex manifolds

Guided by a spinning particle model with U(N)-extended supergravity on the worldline we derive higher spin equations on complex manifolds. Their minimal formulation is in term of gauge fields which satisfy suitable constraints. The latter can be relaxed by introducing compensator fields. There is an obstruction to define these systems on arbitrarily curved spaces, just as in the usual theory of higher spin fields, but we show how to couple them to Kaehler manifolds of constant holomorphic curvature. Quite interestingly, the first class gauge algebra defining the U(N) particles on these manifolds is quadratic and realizes the zero mode sector of certain nonlinear U(N) superconformal algebras introduced sometimes ago by Bershadsky and Knizhnik in 2D.Comment: 26 page

Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy

We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude, with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Acrylamide formation and quality properties of chitosan based batter formulations

[EN] The potential of chitosan to mitigate acrylamide formation has been already demonstrated. The two main objectives of this study were: 1) to select the most adequate degree of deacetylation (DD) and molecular weight (Mw) of chitosan based on acrylamide mitigation criteria and 2) to evaluate the influence of including chitosan in batter formulations on some important technological parameters of raw batters (flow behavior and water retention capacity) and on some quality properties of fried batters (oil uptake, color and texture). Results in model systems showed that chitosans with higher deacetylation degree (86.5 and 92.8%) achieved a decrease of acrylamide between 44 and 81%, depending on reaction time, compared to the control (without chitosan). Furthermore, acid hydrolysis process of chitosan was found to negatively affect its inhibitory effect on acrylamide formation independently of the molecular weight. Raw chitosan based batter formulations presented higher consistency and water retention capacity than the control; chitosan addition to batters reduced the hardening of the fried samples during the post-frying cooling period. No significant differences in water loss were observed between batters with or without added chitosan; however, chitosan-batter formulations showed lower oil uptake during frying as compared to control samples.The authors thank the gs1:Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for the PhD scholarship given to Mariola Sansano Tomas.Sansano Tomás, M.; Castelló Gómez, ML.; Heredia Gutiérrez, AB.; Andrés Grau, AM. (2016). Acrylamide formation and quality properties of chitosan based batter formulations. Food Hydrocolloids. 66:1-7. doi:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2016.10.019S176

Evaluation of the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects of the acetone extract from Anacardium occidentale L

The stem bark of Anacardium occidentale L. (Anacardiaceae), commonly called cashew, is used in Brazilian traditional medicine for the treatment of gastric and inflammatory disorders. The present study was carried out to investigate the in vivo anti-inflammatory activities of the acetone extract (AE) of the stem bark of A. occidentale. We evaluated the pharmacological activities of this plant material through the analgesic, antiedematogenic and chemotaxic inhibitory effects produced by the AE. The oral administration (p.o.) of mice with the AE (0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 g/kg) or positive control indomethacin (10 mg/kg) inhibited acetic acid-induced writhing by 18.9, 35.9, 62.9 and 68.9%, respectively (ID50% = 530 mg/kg). The highest dose of the AE was able to inhibit croton oil-induced ear edema formation by 56.8% (indomethacin at 10 mg/kg, p.o. - 57.6% inhibition). When submitted to the carrageenan-induced peritonitis test, the AE (0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 g/kg, p.o.) impaired leukocyte migration into the peritoneal cavity by 24.8, 40.5 and 49.6%, respectively. The positive control, dexamethasone (2 mg/kg, s.c.), inhibited leukocyte migration by 66.9%. These results indicate the presence of anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive principles in the acetone extract of Anacardium occidentale, and reinforce the plant's potential therapeutic use against pain and inflammatory diseases.As cascas do caule do Anacardium occidentale L. (Anacardiaceae), conhecido como cajueiro, são popularmente utilizadas no Brasil para o tratamento de doenças gástricas e inflamatórias. Este estudo teve como objetivo a avaliação farmacológica in vivo da atividade antiinflamatória do extrato acetônico (AE) obtido das cascas do A. occidentale, investigando os efeitos analgésico, antiedematogênico e inibitório sobre a quimiotaxia deste material botânico. A administração oral (p.o.) em camundongos com o AE (0,1; 0,3 e 1 g/kg) ou o controle positivo indometacina (10 mg/kg) inibiu as contorções abdominais induzidas pelo ácido acético em 18,9; 35,9; 62,9 e 68,9% respectivamente (ID50% = 530 mg/kg). Esta maior dose do AE também inibiu o edema de orelha produzido pelo óleo de cróton em 56,8% (indometacina, 10 mg/kg, p.o. - 57,6% de inibição). No teste da peritonite induzido pela carragenina, o AE (0,1; 0,3; e 1,0 mg/kg, p.o.) reduziu a migração de leucócitos para a cavidade peritoneal em 24,8; 40,5; e 49,6% respectivamente, enquanto que o controle positivo dexametasona (2 mg/kg, s.c.) inibiu a migração de leucócitos em 66,9%. Estes resultados indicam a presença de princípios ativos antiinflamatórios e antinociceptivos no extrato acetônico de Anacardium occidentale e reforçam o potencial terapêutico da planta em doenças que envolvem dor e inflamação