Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and impact on the contraction force

Abstract Objectives: First, to measure the contraction force and to correlate these contraction force measures with the motor-evoked potentials (MEP) resulting from TMS, TST, Quadruple and Quintuple stimulation associated with the paired-pulse paradigm of SICI and ICF. Then, to compare the neuromuscular and electrophysiological responses between two groups of subjects according to their current and past physical activity. Background: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) causes brain activation which generates repetitive spinal motor neuron discharges (RepMNDs). A paradigm called paired-pulse TMS (PP-TMS) allows inhibit or facilitate the neuromuscular response depending on the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) and the intensity of the two stimuli. The paired-pulse paradigm consists on the combination of a subthreshold conditioning stimulus (CS) preceding a suprathreshold test stimulus (TS) at different intervals. The triple stimulation technique (TST), the Quadruple stimulation (QuadS) and the Quintuple stimulation (QuintS) allow a more precise exploration of the motor conduction and of the RepMND. Method: Investigation of 17 healthy volunteers in a randomized design study using single pulse and the paired-pulse paradigm of short intracortical inhibition (SICI) with an ISI of 2ms and an intracortical facilitation (ICF) with an ISI of 10ms through TMS, TST, QuadS and QuintS. Measurement of the contraction force of the abduction of the fifth digit corresponding of the Abductor Digiti Minimi muscle (ADM) using a force transducer. Results: Negative correlation between the physical activity and the amplitude of the contraction force responses for all the stimulation techniques. Paradoxical positive correlation between the physical activity and the amplitude of the MEP response especially concerning QuadS and QuintS. Another founding is that about half of the subjects have repMNDs following a single pulse TMS in the QuadS and QuintS condition (60% and 40% respectively). Conclusions: There is an inverse and paradoxical correlation between the contraction force responses and the MEP responses according to the physical activity of the subjects. These results point to potential association between MEP and the contraction force responses. Force contraction response may depend on the physical activity of each volunteer

A forensic science perspective on the role of images in crime investigation and reconstruction

This article presents a global vision of images in forensic science. The proliferation of perspectives on the use of images throughout criminal investigations and the increasing demand for research on this topic seem to demand a forensic science-based analysis. In this study, the definitions of and concepts related to material traces are revisited and applied to images, and a structured approach is used to persuade the scientific community to extend and improve the use of images as traces in criminal investigations. Current research efforts focus on technical issues and evidence assessment. This article provides a sound foundation for rationalising and explaining the processes involved in the production of clues from trace images. For example, the mechanisms through which these visual traces become clues of presence or action are described. An extensive literature review of forensic image analysis emphasises the existing guidelines and knowledge available for answering investigative questions (who, what, where, when and how). However, complementary developments are still necessary to demystify many aspects of image analysis in forensic science, including how to review and select images or use them to reconstruct an event or assist intelligence efforts. The hypothetico-deductive reasoning pathway used to discover unknown elements of an event or crime can also help scientists understand the underlying processes involved in their decision making. An analysis of a single image in an investigative or probative context is used to demonstrate the highly informative potential of images as traces and/or clues. Research efforts should be directed toward formalising the extraction and combination of clues from images. An appropriate methodology is key to expanding the use of images in forensic science

A methodology to event reconstruction from trace images

The widespread use of digital imaging devices for surveillance (CCTV) and entertainment (e.g., mobile phones, compact cameras) has increased the number of images recorded and opportunities to consider the images as traces or documentation of criminal activity. The forensic science literature focuses almost exclusively on technical issues and evidence assessment [1]. Earlier steps in the investigation phase have been neglected and must be considered. This article is the first comprehensive description of a methodology to event reconstruction using images. This formal methodology was conceptualised from practical experiences and applied to different contexts and case studies to test and refine it. Based on this practical analysis, we propose a systematic approach that includes a preliminary analysis followed by four main steps. These steps form a sequence for which the results from each step rely on the previous step. However, the methodology is not linear, but it is a cyclic, iterative progression for obtaining knowledge about an event. The preliminary analysis is a pre-evaluation phase, wherein potential relevance of images is assessed. In the first step, images are detected and collected as pertinent trace material; the second step involves organising and assessing their quality and informative potential. The third step includes reconstruction using clues about space, time and actions. Finally, in the fourth step, the images are evaluated and selected as evidence. These steps are described and illustrated using practical examples. The paper outlines how images elicit information about persons, objects, space, time and actions throughout the investigation process to reconstruct an event step by step. We emphasise the hypothetico-deductive reasoning framework, which demonstrates the contribution of images to generating, refining or eliminating propositions or hypotheses. This methodology provides a sound basis for extending image use as evidence and, more generally, as clues in investigation and crime reconstruction processes

Psicanálise modernista no Brasil: um recorte histórico Modernist psychoanalysis in Brazil: a historical approach

O presente artigo partiu do pressuposto de que o discurso psicanalítico é sempre apropriado por um intérprete que se filia a uma tradição histórica e cultural. Nesta perspectiva, a produção de subjetividade, que tem lugar na clínica psicanalítica, será marcada por essa tradição privilegiada pelo analista. Assim, julgou-se de grande relevância a investigação das vias discursivas de entrada da psicanálise no Brasil, indicando os pontos de ancoragem da mesma na cultura e na história locais. Com este intuito, traçou-se o processo de urbanização e modernização do Brasil no início do século XX e a entrada da psicanálise em um campo de forças divergentes. Encontrou-se um embate pela hegemonia discursiva entre duas leituras que se constituíram como antagônicas e inconciliáveis, e que levaram a dois modos distintos de uso instrumental da psicanálise: de um lado, o discurso psiquiátrico-higienista, com sua leitura reformista e universalizante da psicanálise; de outro, o discurso da vanguarda modernista, com a leitura da subversão dos códigos estabelecidos e da busca de singularidade. Ambos se constituíram no rastro da busca de forjar o brasileiro que se desejava. Este trabalho percorre o viés da psicanálise modernista, com sua utilização singular para a análise da cultura e das subjetividades, bem como sua função de construção de novos mundos.<br>The current article's basic premise is that psychoanalytic discourse is always appropriated by an interpreter thereof who belongs to a historical and cultural tradition. From this perspective, the production of subjectivity in psychoanalytic practice is marked by the analyst's prime tradition. Thus the major relevance of investigating the discursive routes by which psychoanalysis entered Brazil, identifying its anchoring points in local culture and history. The article thus outlines the urbanization and modernization process in early 20th-century Brazil, together with the entry of psychoanalysis in a field of divergent forces. What occurred was a struggle for discursive hegemony between two antagonistic and irreconcilable readings: on the one hand, psychiatric-hygienist discourse with its reformist and universalizing reading of psychoanalysis; on the other, that of the modernist vanguard, with a reading that subverted established codes in the pursuit of singularity. Both were constituted in the wake of a quest to forge what was viewed as the desired Brazilian. This study covers the modernist psychoanalytic bias, with its unique utilization in the analysis of culture and subjectivities, as well as its role in the construction of new worlds

Engenhos e fazendas de café em Campinas (séc. XVIII - séc. XX)

The article studies the architectural country side of the city of Campinas, a legacy of two economic cycles: the sugar cane and coffee industries at the end of the 18th century and during the 19th century. It analyses the historic documentation and files found in the Centro de Memória Unicamp. It is about the buildings and their construction, the different forms of negotiating and the multiple programs necessary to the growing and housing sectors (during the coffee cycle, the disposition of the buildings determined by the flowing of the operations and needs related to the seed betterment). The article also gives emphasis to technological details of the buildings, revealing preference for traditional methods and materials used in the architectural culture in São Paulo state. This particularity is shown by the domain of mud huts until the advent of railroad in 1870