Multiple evoked and induced alpha modulations in a visual attention task: Latency

Alpha event-related desynchronization (ERD) has been widely applied to understand the psychophysiological role of this band in cognition. In particular, a considerable number of publications have described spectral alterations in several pathologies using this time-frequency approach. However, ERD is not capable of specifically showing nonphase (induced) activity related to the presentation of stimuli. Recent studies have described an evoked and induced activity in the early phases (first 200 ms) of stimulus processing. However, scarce studies have analyzed induced and evoked modulations in longer latencies (>200 ms) and their potential roles in cognitive processing. The main goal of the present study was to analyze diverse evoked and induced modulations in response to visual stimuli. Thus, 58- channel electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded in 21 healthy subjects during the performance of a visual attention task, and analyses were performed for both target and standard stimuli. The initial result showed that phase-locked and nonphase locked activities coexist in the early processing of target and standard stimuli as has been reported by previous studies. However, more modulations were evident in longer latencies in both evoked and induced activities. Correlation analyses suggest that similar maps were present for evoked and induced activities at different timepoints. In the discussion section, diverse proposals will be stated to define the potential roles of these modulations in the information processing for this cognitive task. As a general conclusion, induced activity enables the observation of cognitive mechanisms that are not visible by ERD or ERP modulations

Individual test-retest reliability of evoked and induced alpha activity in human EEG data

Diverse psychological mechanisms have been associated with modulations of different EEG frequencies. To the extent of our knowledge, there are few studies of the test-retest reliability of these modulations in the human brain. To assess evoked and induced alpha reliabilities related to cognitive processing, EEG data from twenty subjects were recorded in 58 derivations in two different sessions separated by 49.5 +/- 48.9 (mean +/- standard deviation) days. A visual oddball was selected as the cognitive task, and three main parameters were analyzed for evoked and induced alpha modulations (latency, amplitude and topography). Latency and amplitude for evoked and induced modulations showed stable behavior between the two sessions. The correlation between sessions for alpha evoked and induced topographies in the grand average (group level) was r = 0.923, p<0.001; r = 0.962, p<0.001, respectively. The within-subject correlation values for evoked modulation ranged from 0.472 to 0.974 (mean: 0.766), whereas induced activity showed a different range, 0.193 to 0.892 (mean: 0.655). Individual analysis of the test-retest reliability showed a higher heterogeneity in the induced modulation, probably due to the heterogeneous phases found in the second case. However, despite this heterogeneity in phase values for induced activity relative to the onset of the stimuli, an excellent correlation score was obtained for group topography, with values that were better than those of the grand average evoked topography. As a main conclusion, induced alpha activity can be observed as a stable and reproducible response in the cognitive processing of the human brain

Descriptive Analysis of Sports Tourists in Spain

Sports tourism is a decisive factor in geographical mobility for leisure purposes. These activities entail certain acts and consequences inherent in their execution, which are worthy of study from the perspective of sustainable and reasonable tourism. Previous studies tried to show the characteristics of this type of tourist but did not provide relevant information to offer the necessary services to provide, to understand their patterns of habits, and to be able to act correctly. This paper aims to study the profile of the sports tourism consumer. Data provided by the National Institute of Statistics for the year 2019 was analyzed, taking a sample of 1496 people for statistical analysis. From these statistical analyses, key information on consumer profiles can be gleaned. Findings showed that people with Spanish nationality predominate, being mainly men. Both sexes show that they are over 40 years of age, with higher education, mostly married, cohabitation with a partner with children at home, with permanent employment contracts and certain patterns of behavior such as the use of their private car, and staying mainly in hotels or aparthotels. Therefore, from the point of view of sustainable tourism, it is vital to draw up profiles and patterns of consumers of this tourism, to evaluate and study its ecological, environmental, and social impact, as well as taking the appropriate measures to balance the balance between sports tourism and sustainability.El turismo deportivo es un factor decisivo en la movilidad geográfica con fines de ocio. Estas actividades conllevan ciertos actos y consecuencias inherentes a su ejecución, que son dignos de estudio desde la perspectiva del turismo sostenible y razonable. Estudios anteriores trataron de mostrar las características de este tipo de turista pero no aportaron información relevante para ofrecer los servicios necesarios a prestar, para conocer sus patrones de hábitos y poder actuar correctamente. Este trabajo pretende estudiar el perfil del consumidor de turismo deportivo. Se han analizado los datos proporcionados por el Instituto Nacional de Estadística para el año 2019, tomando una muestra de 1496 personas para su análisis estadístico. De estos análisis estadísticos se puede extraer información clave sobre el perfil del consumidor. L os resultados mostraron que predominan las personas con nacionalidad española, existiendo una proporción mayor de hombres que de mujeres. De ambos sexos se desprende que son mayores de 40 años, con estudios superiores, mayoritariamente casados, con convivencia en pareja y con hijos en el hogar, con contratos laborales indefinidos y con ciertas pautas de comportamiento como el uso de su coche particular, y alojándose principalmente en hoteles o apartahoteles. Por lo tanto, desde el punto de vista del turismo sostenible, es vital elaborar perfiles y patrones de los consumidores de este turismo, para evaluar y estudiar su impacto ecológico, ambiental y social, así como tomar las medidas aptas para equilibrar la balanza entre el turismo deportivo y la sostenibilidad

An Updated View of the Trypanosoma cruzi Life Cycle: Intervention Points for an Effective Treatment

Chagas disease (CD) is a parasitic, systemic, chronic, and often fatal illness caused by infection with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The World Health Organization classifies CD as the most prevalent of poverty-promoting neglected tropical diseases, the most important parasitic one, and the third most infectious disease in Latin America. Currently, CD is a global public health issue that affects 6–8 million people. However, the current approved treatments are limited to two nitroheterocyclic drugs developed more than 50 years ago. Many efforts have been made in recent decades to find new therapies, but our limited understanding of the infection process, pathology development, and long-term nature of this disease has made it impossible to develop new drugs, effective treatment, or vaccines. This Review aims to provide a comprehensive update on our understanding of the current life cycle, new morphological forms, and genetic diversity of T. cruzi, as well as identify intervention points in the life cycle where new drugs and treatments could achieve a parasitic cure

Depth of field measures in pseudophakic eyes implanted with different type of presbyopia-correcting IOLS

Abstract To evaluate depth of field (DOF) provided by different presbyopia-correcting intraocular lens (IOL) designs, comparing the results obtained using different criteria for defining the defocus tolerance. A total of 150 eyes undergoing cataract surgery were enrolled and divided into 6 groups depending on the IOL implanted: AT.LISA Tri (Carl Zeiss Meditec), FineVision (PhysIOL), PanOptix (Alcon Laboratories), Tecnis Symfony (Johnson & Johnson Vision), Miniwell (SIFI MedTech) and Tecnis Synergy (Johnson & Johnson Vision). Subjective DOF was obtained from defocus curves with absolute and relative criteria of tolerance of 0.1 logMAR. Aberrometry was also measured and the visual strehl optical transference function (VSOTF) with percentage of degradation of 90%, 80% and 60% was used to quantify objectively the DOF. Tecnis Symfony, Tecnis Synergy and Panoptix IOL groups showed better subjective and objective DOF compared to the rest of IOL groups, being these differences statistically significant differences (p < 0.001). Comparison between subjective and objective DOF showed that subjective measures were higher for all IOLs, being also these differences statistically significant for all groups (p < 0.001). A moderate significant correlation was found between absolute subjective criteria and VSOTF60% (r = 0.73, p < 0.05). Objective and subjective measures of DOF are not comparable due to differences in methodologies and criterions to define the level of degradation tolerance. Nevertheless, both objective and subjective measures showed a trend to a greater DOF for Tecnis Symfony and Tecnis Synergy IOLs compared to most of trifocal diffractive designs, with the exception of PanOptix

Subjective and objective depth of field measures in pseudophakic eyes: comparison between extended depth of focus, trifocal and bifocal intraocular lenses

Purpose: To evaluate different intraocular lens (IOL) designs and to determine whether extended depth of focus (EDOF) lenses provide a higher depth of field (DOF) than the rest considering both subjective and objective measurements. Methods: A total of 100 eyes undergoing cataract surgery were divided into six groups depending on the IOL implanted: bifocal designs were Tecnis ZMB and ZLB (Abbott Laboratories, Illinois, USA), trifocal designs were Finevision (PhysIOL, Liège, Belgium) and AT LISA Tri (Carl Zeiss Meditec., Jena, Germany) and EDOF designs were Symfony (Abbott Laboratories, Illinois, USA) and MiniWell (SIFI MedTech, Catania, Italy). Subjective DOF was obtained from defocus curves for the range of vergences which provide a VA over 0.1 LogMAR and 0.2 LogMAR. Aberrometry was measured and Visual Strehl Optical Transference Function (90%) was used to quantify objectively the DOF. Results: Symfony IOL group showed better subjective and objective DOF compared to the rest of IOL groups, with statistically significant differences (p < 0.001). Comparison between subjective and objective DOF showed that subjective measures were higher for all IOLs, being these differences statistically significant for all groups when compared with objective measures (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Objective and subjective measures of DOF are not comparable due to differences in methodologies and criterions to define the level of degradation acceptance. Nevertheless, both objective and subjective measures demonstrate a greater DOF for EDOF designs compared to bifocal and trifocal IOLs, being the Symfony IOL the one providing higher levels of subjective and objective DOF.The author David P Piñero has been supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness of Spain within the program Ramón y Cajal, RYC-2016-20471

Synthesis and Biological in vitro and in vivo Evaluation of 2-(5-Nitroindazol-1-yl)ethylamines and Related Compounds as Potential Therapeutic Alternatives for Chagas Disease

© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease caused by infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a potentially life-threatening illness that affects 5–8 million people in Latin America, and more than 10 million people worldwide. It is characterized by an acute phase, which is partly resolved by the immune system, but then develops as a chronic disease without an effective treatment. There is an urgent need for new antiprotozoal agents, as the current standard therapeutic options based on benznidazole and nifurtimox are characterized by limited efficacy, toxicity, and frequent failures in treatment. In vitro and in vivo assays were used to identify some new low-cost 5-nitroindazoles as a potential antichagasic therapeutic alternative. Compound 16 (3-benzyloxy-5-nitro-1-vinyl-1H-indazole) showed improved efficiency and lower toxicity than benznidazole in both in vitro and in vivo experiments, and its trypanocidal activi

Effect of the side of presentation in the visual field on phase-locked and nonphase-locked alpha and gamma responses

Recent studies have suggested that nonphase-locked activity can reveal cognitive mechanisms that cannot be observed in phase-locked activity. In fact, we describe a concomitant decrease in nonphase-locked alpha activity (desynchronization) when stimuli were processed (alpha phase-locked modulation). This desynchronization may represent a reduction in “background activity” in the visual cortex that facilitates stimulus processing. Alternatively, nonphase-locked gamma activity has been hypothesized to be an index of shifts in attentional focus. In this study, our main aim was to confrm these potential roles for nonphase-locked alpha and gamma activities with a lateralized Go/NoGo paradigm. The results showed that nonphase-locked alpha modulation is bilaterally represented in the scalp compared to the contralateral distribution of the phase-locked response. This fnding suggests that the decrease in background activity is not limited to neural areas directly involved in the visual processing of stimuli. Additionally, gamma activity showed a higher desynchronization of nonphase-locked activity in the ipsilateral hemisphere, where the phase-locked activity reached the minimum amplitude. This fnding suggests that the possible functions of nonphase-locked gamma activity extend beyond shifts in attentional focus and could represent an attentional flter reducing the gamma representation in the visual area irrelevant to the task

AIoT in Agriculture: Safeguarding Crops from Pest and Disease Threats

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).A significant proportion of the world’s agricultural production is lost to pests and diseases. To mitigate this problem, an AIoT system for the early detection of pest and disease risks in crops is proposed. It presents a system based on low-power and low-cost sensor nodes that collect environmental data and transmit it once a day to a server via a NB-IoT network. In addition, the sensor nodes use individual, retrainable and updatable machine learning algorithms to assess the risk level in the crop every 30 min. If a risk is detected, environmental data and the risk level are immediately sent. Additionally, the system enables two types of notification: email and flashing LED, providing online and offline risk notifications. As a result, the system was deployed in a real-world environment and the power consumption of the sensor nodes was characterized, validating their longevity and the correct functioning of the risk detection algorithms. This allows the farmer to know the status of their crop and to take early action to address these threats