Executive Function Training in Childhood Obesity: Food Choice, Quality of Life, and Brain Connectivity (TOuCH): A Randomized Control Trial Protocol

Background: Individuals with obesity are known to present cognitive deficits, especially in executive functions. Executive functions play an important role in health and success throughout the whole life and have been related to food decision-making and to the ability to maintain energy balance. It is possible to improve executive functions through targeted training. This would involve brain plasticity changes that could be studied through connectivity MRI. The general hypothesis of this study is that executive functions training in children with obesity can improve food choices and produce cognitive and neuroimaging changes (structural and functional connectivity), as well as improve emotional state and quality of life. Methods: Randomized controlled double-blind trial with 12-month follow-up. Thirty children with obesity will be randomly allocated into 'executive training' (Cognifit with adaptive difficulty + Cogmed) or 'control task' group (Cognifit without adaptive difficulty). Both groups will attend 30-45min of individual gamified training (Cogmed and/or Cognifit systems) by iPad, five times per week during 6 weeks. Cogmed and Cognifit software are commercially available from Pearson and Cognifit, respectively. Participants will receive an iPad with both apps installed for a 6-week use. Participants will also receive counseling diet information via presentations sent to the iPad and will wear a Fitbit Flex 2 tracker to monitor daily activity and sleep patterns.Main outcomes will be cognitive, emotional, food decision, and quality-of-life measures, as well as neuroimaging measures. Participants are evaluated at baseline (T0), after treatment (T1), and 12 months since baseline (T2). Discussion: Longitudinal study with active control group and 3 time points: baseline, immediately after treatment, and 1 year after baseline. Threefold treatment: executive function training, psychoeducation, and feedback on activity/sleep tracking. We will evaluate the transfer effects of the intervention, including emotional and functional outcomes, as well as the effects on neural plasticity by connectivity MRI

Detailed energy analysis of a sheet-metal-forming press from electrical measurements

This paper presents a methodology that allows for the detection of the state of a sheet-metal-forming press, the parts being produced, their cadence, and the energy demand for each unit produced. For this purpose, only electrical measurements are used. The proposed analysis is conducted at the level of the press subsystems: main motor, transfer module, cushion, and auxiliary systems, and is intended to count, classify, and monitor the production of pressed parts. The power data are collected every 20 ms and show cyclic behavior, which is the basis for the presented methodology. A neural network (NN) based on heuristic rules is developed to estimate the press states. Then, the production period is determined from the power data using a least squares method to obtain normalized harmonic coefficients. These are the basis for a second NN dedicated to identifying the parts in production. The global error in estimating the parts being produced is under 1%. The resulting information could be handy in determining relevant information regarding the press behavior, such as energy per part, which is necessary in order to evaluate the energy performance of the press under different production conditions.Xunta de Galicia | Ref. IN854A 2020/0

La renovación de la palabra en el bicentenario de la Argentina : los colores de la mirada lingüística

El libro reúne trabajos en los que se exponen resultados de investigaciones presentadas por investigadores de Argentina, Chile, Brasil, España, Italia y Alemania en el XII Congreso de la Sociedad Argentina de Lingüística (SAL), Bicentenario: la renovación de la palabra, realizado en Mendoza, Argentina, entre el 6 y el 9 de abril de 2010. Las temáticas abordadas en los 167 capítulos muestran las grandes líneas de investigación que se desarrollan fundamentalmente en nuestro país, pero también en los otros países mencionados arriba, y señalan además las áreas que recién se inician, con poca tradición en nuestro país y que deberían fomentarse. Los trabajos aquí publicados se enmarcan dentro de las siguientes disciplinas y/o campos de investigación: Fonología, Sintaxis, Semántica y Pragmática, Lingüística Cognitiva, Análisis del Discurso, Psicolingüística, Adquisición de la Lengua, Sociolingüística y Dialectología, Didáctica de la lengua, Lingüística Aplicada, Lingüística Computacional, Historia de la Lengua y la Lingüística, Lenguas Aborígenes, Filosofía del Lenguaje, Lexicología y Terminología

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Influence of Executive Function Training on BMI, Food Choice, and Cognition in Children with Obesity: Results from the TOuCH Study

Background: Children with obesity have a higher risk of future health and psychological problems. Executive functions (EFs) play a key role in successful dietetic and exercise planning; therefore, new treatments aimed at improving EFs may optimize outcomes. Objectives: This study evaluates the impact of EF training on body mass index (BMI), food choice, and cognition in children with obesity. We also examine their real-life executive functioning, emotional state, and quality of life. Methods: Randomized controlled double-blind trial. Forty-six children with obesity were randomly allocated into an executive functions training or a control task training group and attended 30-45 min of daily training (5/week over 6 weeks), with both groups receiving counseling on diet and wearing an activity/sleep tracker. Participants were evaluated at baseline and after treatment. Results: BMI decreased over time in the whole sample, although there were no differences between groups at post-training in BMI, food choice, and cognition. Both groups showed significant improvements in attention, speed, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control. Additionally, there were some benefits in real-life executive functioning and self-esteem. Over the 6 weeks, participants showed worse food choices in both groups. Conclusions: EFs training showed a lack of significant effects. The executive function enhancement alone did not explain these changes, as there were no significant differences between the experimental groups. It might be that the control task training could also produce some benefits, and multi-component interventions might be useful for weight loss

The direct effect of fibroblast growth factor 23 on vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype and function.

In chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients, increased levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) are associated with cardiovascular mortality. The relationship between FGF23 and heart hypertrophy has been documented, however, it is not known whether FGF23 has an effect on vasculature. Vascular smooth muscle cells VSMCs may exhibit different phenotypes; our hypothesis is that FGF23 favours a switch from a contractile to synthetic phenotype that may cause vascular dysfunction. Our objective was to determine whether FGF23 may directly control a change in VSMC phenotype. This study includes in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo experiments and evaluation of patients with CKD stages 2-3 studying a relationship between FGF23 and vascular dysfunction. In vitro studies show that high levels of FGF23, by acting on its specific receptor FGFR1 and Erk1/2, causes a change in the phenotype of VSMCs from contractile to synthetic. This change is mediated by a downregulation of miR-221/222, which augments the expression of MAP3K2 and PAK1. miR-221/222 transfections recovered the contractile phenotype of VSMCs. Infusion of recombinant FGF23 to rats increased vascular wall thickness, with VSMCs showing a synthetic phenotype with a reduction of miR-221 expression. Ex-vivo studies on aortic rings demonstrate also that high FGF23 increases arterial stiffening. In CKD 2-3 patients, elevation of FGF23 was associated with increased pulse wave velocity and reduced plasma levels of miR-221/222. In VSMCs, high levels of FGF23, through the downregulation of miR-221/222, causes a change to a synthetic phenotype. This change in VSMCs increases arterial stiffening and impairs vascular function, which might ultimately worsen cardiovascular disease

La Historia en la literatura española del siglo XIX

Editors literaris: José Manuel González Herrán, Marisa Sotelo Vázquez, Cristina Carbonell, Hazel Gold, Dolores Thion Soriano-Mollá, Blanca Ripoll Sintes i Jessica Cáliz MontesEste volumen recoge los frutos del VII Coloquio de la Sociedad de Literatura Española del Siglo XIX, celebrado en Barcelona entre el 22 y el 24 de octubre de 2014. El encuentro contó con una nutrida participación de especialistas procedentes de universidades españolas y de otros países europeos, norteamericanas y japonesas. Las cuarenta y siete ponencias se agrupan en seis secciones que abordan los diferentes aspectos de las relaciones entre la literatura y la historia desde el Romanticismo hasta el fin de siglo, así como la interacción de la historia con los distintos géneros literarios, especialmente la novela y el teatro, sin olvidar otras vertientes culturales como la prensa. Asimismo, se dedican sendas secciones monográficas a Benito Pérez Galdós y Emilia Pardo Bazán

La memoria de los libros. Estudios sobre la historia del escrito y de la lectura en Europa y América, vol. II

Colección de estudios sobre historia del libro, de la lectura, de la edición, etc

ESICM LIVES 2016: part two : Milan, Italy. 1-5 October 2016.

Meeting abstrac