Modulation of corticospinal output during goal-directed actions: Evidence for a contingent coding hypothesis.

Abstract Seeing a person perform an action activates the observer's motor system. The present study aimed at investigating the temporal relationship between execution and observation of goal-directed actions. One possibility is that the corticospinal excitability (CSE) follows the dynamic evolution of the pattern of muscle activity in the executed action. Alternatively, CSE may anticipate the future course of the observed action, prospectively extrapolating future states. Our study was designed to test these alternative hypotheses by directly comparing the time course of muscle recruitment during the execution and observation of reach-to-grasp movements. We found that the time course of CSE during action observation followed the time course of the EMG signal during action execution. This contingent coding was observed despite the outcome of the observed motor act being predictable from the earliest phases of the movement. These findings challenge the view that CSE serves to predict the target of an observed action

Current therapeutic options for the main monogenic autoinflammatory diseases and PFAPA syndrome: evidence-based approach and proposal of a practical guide

Monogenic autoinflammatory diseases are rare conditions caused by genetic abnormalities affecting the innate immunity. Previous therapeutic strategies had been mainly based on results from retrospective studies and physicians' experience. However, during the last years, the significant improvement in their genetic and pathogenic knowledge has been accompanied by a remarkable progress in their management. The relatively recent identification of the inflammasome as the crucial pathogenic mechanism causing an aberrant production of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in the most frequent monogenic autoinflammatory diseases led to the introduction of anti-IL-1 agents and other biologic drugs as part of the previously limited therapeutic armamentarium available. Advances in the treatment of autoinflammatory diseases have been favored by the use of new biologic agents and the performance of a notable number of randomized clinical trials exploring the efficacy and safety of these agents. Clinical trials have contributed to increase the level of evidence and provided more robust therapeutic recommendations. This review analyzes the treatment of the most frequent monogenic autoinflammatory diseases, namely, familial Mediterranean fever, tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic fever syndrome, hyperimmunoglobulin D syndrome/mevalonate kinase deficiency, and cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes, together with periodic fever with aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis syndrome, which is the most common polygenic autoinflammatory disease in children, also occurring in adult patients. Finally, based on the available expert consensus recommendations and the highest level of evidence of the published studies, a practical evidence-based guideline for the treatment of these autoinflammatory diseases is proposed

Forest bioeconomy in the media discourse in Spain

Media can play a key role in shaping public opinion and setting a policy agenda by conveying and influencing public discourse. This article evaluates how the Spanish media has covered the topic of the forest bioeconomy and what kind of discourse it has produced and reproduced around it. For this purpose, we analysed the content of 204 national and regional newspaper articles. The results reveal the scarce penetration of the forest bioeconomy in media and some weaknesses in the narrative production and communicative dimension. The discourse is mainly constructed by governments with a limited presence of multiple stakeholders and an absence of conflict and divergent or alternative views. In addition, the discourse only addresses regional or local problems within the framework of an extended and dominant paradigm of economic growth considering the forest bioeconomy as an opportunity to combat fire, rural abandonment, smallholdings, and poor forest management. We conclude that media is not using its strategic potential and capacity as a public space. To become agents of change, the media should reflect a forest bioeconomy based on successful experiences of innovation and valorization, and adopt a transformative social vision that gives relevance to the interconnection between multiple stakeholders, forest multifunctionality and rural development

Efecto del sorgo de Alepo sobre la producción de soja, de maíz y de las malezas presentes en estos cultivos

p.123-129En dos lotes con diferentes historias agrícolas sembrados uno con maíz y otro con soja, se tomaron muestras de biomasa aérea cuando finalizó el ciclo de los cultivos. Se estudiaron las relaciones entre la biomasa aérea cosechada del sorgo de Alepo con la de las especies cultivadas y la de las otras especies de malezas presentes en las parcelas' muéstrales. Para ello se ajustaron los datos a modelos de regresión lineales y exponenciales. Sólo en uno de los lotes sembrados con maíz, cuya historia agrícola fue una larga monocultura de esa especie, el aumento de la biomasa de sorgo de Alepo se relacionó con disminuciones marcadas en la cantidad de materia seca del maíz y de las otras especies de maleza. La partición de la materia seca del cultivo entre el grano y la parte vegetativa se modificó en relación con la biomasa de sorgo de Alepo. En el lote sembrado con soja se observó una disminución de la materia seca de esta especie en relación con el aumento de la biomasa aérea del sorgo de Alepo, en cambio, la biomasa aérea de las otras malezas se mostró indiferente. Los modelos dé regresión exponenciales negativos fueron los más adecuados para describir las relaciones analizadas

Are There Any Parameters Missing in the Mathematical Models Applied in the Process of Spreading COVID-19?

On 11 March 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). As of 12.44 GMT on 15 January 2021, it has produced 93,640,296 cases and 2,004,984 deaths. The use of mathematical modelling was applied in Italy, Spain, and UK to help in the prediction of this pandemic. We used equations from general and reduced logistic models to describe the epidemic development phenomenon and the trend over time. We extracted this information from the Italian Ministry of Health, the Spanish Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs, and Social Welfare, and the UK Statistics Authority from 3 February to 30 April 2020. We estimated that, from the seriousness of the phenomenon, the consequent pathology, and the lethal outcomes, the COVID-19 trend relate to the same classic laws that govern epidemics and their evolution. The curve d(t) helps to obtain information on the duration of the epidemic phenomenon, as its evolution is related to the efficiency and timeliness of the system, control, diagnosis, and treatment. In fact, the analysis of this curve, after acquiring the data of the first three weeks, also favors the advantage to formulate forecast hypotheses on the progress of the epidemic

IMC-BFMNU: Un índice estructural relacionado a la masa grasa

Introduction: Body mass index (BMI) provides little information on body composition. For example, two people with the same BMI might have different body compositions. In this sense, the development of a new BMI able to provide body composition information is of clinical and scientific interest. The aim of the study was to suggest a new modified BMI formula.Material and methods: A total of 108 subject, females 56 and males 52, 0-73 years old, in various physiopathological conditions were evaluated. Data were collected and processed by a program that through anthropometric measurements calculates classic BMI, volume, surface, V/S (that we can defined like a body-thickness “pseudospessore”) and the new BMI-BFMNU.Results: The basic formula (BMI =Body Mass [kg]/Height [m2]) uses the height squared as the value of the body surface, although this is only an approximation of the real surface, whereas using the real surface instead, the new BMI reflects better the ratio between the body volume and its surface. The ratio called "pseudospessore" is already used in literature from the BFMNU (Italian acronym refereed to Biologia e Fisiologia Modellistica della Nutrizione Umana) method and has been shown to be related to the amount of fat.Conclusions: Using the BMI-BFMNU, it is possible to obtain an indication of the body structure related to the amount of fat. The consequence is that the obtained numerical values do not coincide with the traditional BMI’s values and will refer to different normal ranges. For instance, a person may be in the range of normal weight for both BMI measurements, but only the BMI-BFMNU detects whether a person has a higher or lower fat content considering the individual’s category. This study opens up to new possible future developments on the application of the new BMI that will allow a more accurate assessment and classification of patients.Introducción: El índice de masa corporal (IMC) proporciona poca información sobre la composición corporal. Por ejemplo, dos personas con el mismo IMC pueden presentar composiciones corporales muy diferentes. Por tanto, sería de gran interés clínico y científico encontrar un nuevo IMC que proporcione información adicional sobre la composición corporal. El objetivo del estudio fue encontrar una nueva fórmula de IMC.Material y métodos: Un total de 108 sujetos, 56 mujeres y 52 hombres, de entre 0-73 años, con diversas condiciones fisiopatológicas fueron evaluados. Los datos fueron recolectados y procesados por un programa que a través de medidas antropométricas calculó el IMC clásico, volumen, superficie, V/S (que puede ser definido como pseudoespesor corporal “pseudospessore”) y el nuevo IMC-BFMNU. Resultados: La fórmula básica (IMC = Masa corporal [kg]/Altura [m2]) usa la altura al cuadrado como el valor de la superficie corporal, aunque esto es solo una aproximación de la superficie real, mientras que, al usar la superficie real, el nuevo IMC refleja mejor la relación entre el volumen corporal y su superficie. La proporción denominada "pseudoespesor" ya se utiliza en la literatura dentro del método BFMNU (acrónimo italiano referido a Biologia e Fisiologia Modellistica della Nutrizione Umana) y que se ha demostrado que está relacionada con la cantidad de grasa. Conclusiones: Utilizando el IMC-BFMNU, es posible obtener una indicación de la estructura corporal relacionada con la cantidad de grasa. La consecuencia es que los valores numéricos obtenidos no coinciden con los valores del IMC tradicional y se refieren a diferentes rangos de normalidad. Por ejemplo, una persona puede estar en el rango de peso normal para ambas mediciones de IMC, pero solo el IMC-BFMNU puede detectar si una persona tiene un mayor o menor contenido de grasa considerando la categoría del individuo. Este estudio se abre a nuevos posibles desarrollos futuros sobre la aplicación del nuevo IMC que permitirá una valoración y clasificación más precisa de los pacientes

Sobre la presència d’Otala xanthodon (Anton, 1838) (Gastropoda: Helicidae) a la península Ibèrica

In this article, the first known established population of Otala xanthodon (Helicidae) is given for the Iberian Peninsula. Some few thousands of live specimens were found at the Sierra de Callosa de Segura mountain system (Baix Segura, Alicante province). The specimens were found preferably in sunny environments at an altitude above 400m, mainly on Macrochloa and Asphodelus plants or hidden in crevices. This is a species native to north Africa and is apparently already cited in the south of France. Its presence in an environment of high ecological value could endanger some endemic snails present in these mountains, particularly those of the genus IberusA la present nota es recull la primera població establerta coneguda d’Otala xanthodon (Helicidae) a la penín-sula Ibèrica. Es van trobar milers d’exemplars vius en un punt de la serra de Callosa de Segura (el Baix Segura, província d’Alacant). Els espècimens trobats habiten preferentment en ambients assolellats per sobre del 400 m d’altitud, principalment sobre espart i Asphodelus, o amagats en esquerdes. Es tracta d’una espècie originària del nord d’Àfrica, però aparentment ja citada al sud de França. La seva presència en un lloc d’alt valor ambiental podria posar en risc poblacions de cargols endèmics, fonamentalment del gènere Iberus, present en aquesta serralada