A simple inflation indicator for the euro zone

This paper proposes and estimates an inflation indicator for the European Monetary Union (EMU). This indicator is set up so that it is contemporarily not affected by the changes in price differentials among EMU countries. The results show that the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices (MUICP), which is the inflation measure that the European Central Bank (ECB) takes as a reference for monetary policy purposes, could be understating the value of the inflation in the euro zone. It is also concluded that regional peculiarities are fundamental in the evolution of prices in the different EMU countries

Number-space associations without language: Evidence from preverbal human infants and non-human animal species

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Not All Continuous Dimensions Map Equally: Number-Brightness Mapping in Human Infants

Evidence for spontaneous mappings between the dimensions of number and length, time and length, and number and time, has been recently described in preverbal infants. It is unclear, however, whether these abilities reflect the existence of privileged mappings between certain quantitative dimensions, like number, space and time, or instead the existence of a magnitude system underlying the representation of any quantitative dimension, and allowing mappings across those dimensions. Four experiments, using the same methods from previous research that revealed a number-length mapping in eight-month-old infants, investigated whether infants of the same age establish mappings between number and a different, non-spatial continuous dimension: level of brightness. We show that infants are able to learn and productively use mappings between brightness and number when they are positively related, i.e., larger numbers paired with brighter or higher contrast levels, and fail when they are inversely related, i.e., smaller numbers paired with brighter or higher contrast levels, suggesting that they are able to learn this mapping in a specific direction. However, infants not only do not show any baseline preference for any direction of the number-brightness mapping, but fail at transferring the discrimination from one dimension (number) to the other (brightness). Although infants can map multiple dimensions to one another, the number-length mapping may be privileged early in development, as it is for adults

Spontaneous Mapping of Number and Space in Adults and Young Children

Mature representations of space and number are connected to one another in ways suggestive of a ‘mental number line,’ but this mapping could either be a cultural construction or a reflection of a more fundamental link between the domains of number and geometry. Using a manual bisection paradigm, we tested for number line representations in adults, young school children, and preschool children. Non-symbolic numerical displays systematically distorted localization of the midpoint of a horizontal line at all three ages. Numerical and spatial representations therefore are linked prior to the onset of formal instruction, in a manner that suggests a privileged relation between spatial and numerical cognition.Psycholog

Number-Space Mapping in Human Infants

Mature representations of number are built on a core system of numerical representation that connects to spatial representations in the form of a mental number line. The core number system is functional in early infancy, but little is known about the origins of the mapping of numbers onto space. In this article, we show that preverbal infants transfer the discrimination of an ordered series of numerosities to the discrimination of an ordered series of line lengths. Moreover, infants construct relationships between numbers and line lengths when they are habituated to unordered pairings that vary positively, but not when they are habituated to unordered pairings that vary inversely. These findings provide evidence that a predisposition to relate representations of numerical magnitude to spatial length develops early in life. A central foundation of mathematics, science, and technology therefore emerges prior to experience with language, symbol systems, or measurement devices.Psycholog

Das AltersTraumaZentrum DGU - Ergebnisse der Pilotphase eines prospektiven Patientenregisters

Hintergrund Mit steigendem Alter wächst das Frakturrisiko, immer häufiger kommt es zu operationsbedürftigen Verletzungen von generell oft sehr multimorbiden Patienten. Die meisten dieser Frakturen sind osteoporose- assoziiert, wobei diese häufig nicht diagnostiziert und somit auch nicht behandelt wird. Zur Verbesserung der Versorgung dieser komplexen geriatrisch- traumatologischen Patienten wurde im Jahr 2014 das AltersTraumaRegister DGU® gegründet. Seit 2014 können sich Kliniken, in denen interdisziplinär unfallchirurgisch- geriatrische Patienten behandelt werden, als AltersTraumaZentrum DGU® zertifizieren. Für die Messung der Behandlungsqualität in den Zentren wurde das AltersTraumaRegister DGU aufgebaut. Patienten und Methoden Es wurden 118 Patienten mit proximaler Femurfraktur oder implantatassoziierter Fraktur sowie einem Alter von über 70 Jahren eingeschlossen. Erfasst wurden verschiedene Parameter bezüglich der Patientencharakteristika, der Behandlung sowie der Ergebnisse. Die Ermittlung der Lebensqualität erfolgte mittels EQ- 5D in der ersten postoperativen Woche. Ergebnisse Die operative Versorgung erfolgte bei 87% der Patienten innerhalb von 24Std. Die spezifische Osteoporosetherapie konnte im stationären Verlauf von 4 auf 63 Patienten gesteigert werden. Die gesundheitsbezogene Lebensqualität war in der ersten postoperativen noch stark erniedrigt. Schlussfolgerung Gemessen an den Behandlungsparametern „Operationszeitpunkt“ sowie „Einleitung einer Osteoporosetherapie“ scheint die Behandlung an den Zentren erfolgreich zu sein. Zur besseren Bewertung der Ergebnisqualität in den AltersTraumaZentren DGU® ist aber die Etablierung einer Nachuntersuchung im AltersTraumaRegister DGU essenziell, welche in bereits zertifizierten AltersTraumaZentren DGU routinemäßig nach 120 Tagen durchgeführt wird

Session 1. Videogames

Videogame localization: from development to the end user experience / Itziar Zorrakin-Goikoetxea (University of the Basque Country) ; There is a place for accessibility in the games / Victória Albuquerque Silva (Universidade de Brasília) ; Fun for all: exploring new ways to improve game accessibility for blind players / María Eugenia Larreina (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Carme Mangiron (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) ; You have rules… so what? Neologisms and anglicisms in video games localized for the French-Canadian market / Julie Pigeon (Université du Québec en Outaouais). Chair: Estel-la Oncins (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Identification of possible new salivary biomarkers of stress in sheep using a high-resolution quantitative proteomic technique

The aim of this study was to identify biological pathways and proteins differentially expressed in the saliva proteome of sheep after the application of a model of stress, using high-resolution quantitative proteomics. In addition, one of the proteins differently expressed was verified and evaluated as a possible biomarker of stress in this species. Saliva paired samples from eight sheep before and after the application of a model of stress based on shearing were analysed using tandem mass tags (TMT). The TMT analysis allowed for the identification of new stress-related metabolic pathways and revealed 13 proteins, never described in saliva of sheep, that were differentially expressed between before and after the stress. Six of these proteins pertain to four major metabolic pathways affected, namely: canonical glycolysis, oxygen transport, neural nucleus development, and regulation of actin cytoskeleton reorganization. The rest of proteins were unmapped original proteins such as acyl-coenzyme-A-binding protein; complement C3; alpha-2-macroglobulin isoform-X1; type-II small proline-rich protein; lactoferrin; secretoglobin family-1D-member; and keratin, type-II cytoskeletal 6. Of these proteins, based on its biological significance and specific immunoassay availability, lactoferrin was selected for further validation. The immunoassay intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation were lower than 13%. The method showed good linearity under dilution and recovery, and the detection limit was low enough to detect salivary lactoferrin levels. A significant decrease (P < 0.01) in salivary lactoferrin concentration in the sheep following the application of the model of stress was observed, suggesting that this protein could be a potential salivary biomarker of stress situations in sheep

Operational Momentum During Ordering Operations for Size and Number in 4-Month-Old Infants

An Operational Momentum (OM) effect is shown by 9-month-old infants during non-symbolic arithmetic, whereby they overestimate the outcomes to addition problems, and underestimate the outcomes to subtraction problems. Recent evidence has shown that this effect extends to ordering operations for size-based sequences in 12-month-olds. Here we provide evidence that OM occurs for ordering operations involving numerical sequences containing multiple quantity cues, but not size-based sequences, already at 4 months of age. Infants were tested in an ordinal task in which they detected and represented increasing or decreasing variations in physical and/or numerical size, and then responded to ordinal sequences that exhibited greater or lesser sizes/numerosities, thus following or violating the OM generated during habituation. Results showed that OM was absent during size ordering (Experiment 1), but was present when infants ordered arrays of discrete elements varying on numerical and non-numerical dimensions, if both number and continuous magnitudes were available cues to discriminate between with-OM and against-OM sequences during test trials (Experiments 2 vs. 3). The presence of momentum for ordering number only when provided with multiple cues of magnitude changes suggests that OM is a complex phenomenon that blends multiple representations of magnitude early in infancy