Cinemómetro piezoeléctrico de alta exactitud (VUAE)

Se ha desarrollado un sistema electrónico computerizado, portátil y de bajo consumo, denominado Medidor de Velocidad de Vehículos por Ultrasonidos de Alta Exactitud, VUAE. La alta exactitud de la medida conseguida en el VUAE hace que pueda servir de medida de referencia de la velocidad de un vehículo circulando en carretera. Por tanto el VUAE puede usarse como medida de referencia que permita estimar el error de los cinemómetros comerciales. El VUAE está compuesto por n (n≥2) parejas de emisores y receptores piezoeléctricos de ultrasonidos, denominados E-Rult. Los emisores de las n parejas E-Rult generan n barreras de ultrasonidos, y los receptores piezoeléctricos captan la señal de los ecos cuando el vehículo atraviesa las barreras. Estos ecos se procesan digitalmente para conseguir señales representativas. Posteriormente, utilizando la técnica de la correlación cruzada de señales, se ha podido estimar con alta exactitud la diferencia de tiempos entre los ecos captados en cada barrera. Con los tiempos entre ecos y con la distancia entre cada una de las n barreras de ultrasonidos se puede realizar una estimación de la velocidad del vehículo con alta exactitud. El VUAE se ha contrastado con un sistema de velocidad de referencia, basado en cables piezoeléctricos.Peer reviewe

Ocular pain and discomfort after advanced surface ablation (ASA): an ignored complaint

Purpose: Laser vision correction is one of the most commonly performed elective surgical procedures in ophthalmology. Generally, discomfort besides pain (photophobia, burning sensation, tearing, and foreign body sensation) after these procedures is not taken into consideration in the clinical practice. The objective is to provide data on these symptoms and their relevance after advanced surface ablation (ASA). Methods: Single-center survey study based on a structured questionnaire relative to the patients' perceived symptoms after ASA. Inclusion criteria were: ≥18 years old, no ocular disease, with myopia (0.75 to 9 D) or hyperopia (0.25 to 5 D) with or without astigmatism, receiving ASA on at least one eye. All procedures were performed by the same surgeon. A descriptive analysis was performed. Results: Seventy-three consecutive patients (34 men and 39 women) were included in the study. The median (range) of age was 33 (19-64) years. Sixty-nine patients had surgery done on both eyes. Postoperative pain was the most frequent comorbidity (97% [95% confidence interval {CI}: 90-100]) with a median (range) of intensity (verbal numerical rating scale) score of 7 (2-10). Photophobia: 85% (95% CI: 75-92); burning sensation: 62% (95% CI: 50-73); tearing: 59% (95% CI: 47-70); and foreign body sensation: 48% (95% CI: 36-60) were also prevalent postoperative symptoms. Pain during ASA was reported for 44% (95% CI: 32-56) of patients. Conclusion: Comorbidities such as pain, photophobia, burning sensation, tearing, and foreign body sensation are prevalent after ASA procedure. Postoperative pain should be taken into consideration due to its prevalence and intensity. A new and more efficient postoperative analgesic protocol should be established

Mercury intoxication and ophthalmic involvement: An update review

Human intoxication after mercury exposure is a rare condition that can cause severe damage to the central nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, renal, gastrointestinal, skin, and visual systems and represents a major public health concern. Ophthalmic involvement includes impaired function of the extraocular muscles and the eyelids, as well as structural changes in the ocular surface, lens, retina, and optic nerve causing a potential irreversible damage to the visual system. Although, there are many pathways for poisoning depending on the mercury form, it has been suggested that tissue distribution does not differ in experimental animals when administered as mercury vapor, organic mercury, or inorganic mercury. Additionally, visual function alterations regarding central visual acuity, color discrimination, contrast sensitivity, visual field and electroretinogram responses have also been described widely. Nevertheless, there is still controversy about whether visual manifestations occur secondary to brain damage or as a direct affectation, and which ocular structure is primarily affected. Despite the use of some imaging techniques such as in vivo confocal microscopy of the cornea, optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the retina and optic nerve, and functional tests such as electroretinography has helped to solve in part this debate, further studies incorporating other imaging modalities such as autofluorescence, OCT angiography or adaptive optics retinal imaging are needed. This review aims to summarize the published structural and functional alterations found in the visual system of patients suffering from mercury intoxication

Pain perception description after advanced surface ablation

Purpose: The objective of this study was to characterize the evolution of ocular pain after advanced surface ablation (ASA) to improve strategies in postoperative pain management. Methods: This was a multicenter, prospective, descriptive, cohort study. The inclusion criteria were healthy individuals ≥18 years old receiving bilateral alcohol-assisted surface ablation with epithelial removal. Pain intensity was evaluated with the visual analog scale (VAS) and the numeric pain rating scale before and after surgery. Comorbidities (photophobia, burning, tearing, and foreign body sensation) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) questionnaire were evaluated before and at 6 hours after surgery. Postoperative treatments included cold patch, topical cold antibiotics, topical steroids, and benzodiazepines. Results: Thirty-two consecutive patients having similar profiles of postoperative pain evolution were included. At 0.5 hour after ASA, the pain score by VAS was 37±20 mm, and the maximum pain, 61±31 mm, occurred at 24 hours. Afterward, it decreased progressively until 72 hours after surgery (19±20 mm). Most patients (81%) scored >60 mm, and 44% required rescue medication. Among the comorbidities, all patients had photophobia and 84% had burning sensation. At 6 hours, the HAD score was 5.4±3.9, within the range of values considered as normal. Conclusion: Postoperative acute ocular pain after ASA showed a characteristic evolution over time. Recognition of the pattern could be important for improving the acceptance of ASA and for improving strategies in pain management in the postoperative period

Propuesta de un modelo de respuesta de los delirios esquizofrénicos a los antipsicóticos

Pese al gran avance experimentado por la psicofarmacología, hay preguntas obvias en la práctica cotidiana que no suelen centrar la atención de los investigadores. Se propone un modelo que explique la respuesta variable que se observa en los delirios esquizofrénicos al tratamiento antipsicótico. Se trata de un modelo compuesto por dos polos. En uno de ellos rige el paradigma de la inhibición de la respuesta de evitación condicionada, que remite al efecto ataráxico o neuroléptico de estos fármacos. El otro polo se basa en una aplicación de la fenomenología de Husserl a la psicopatología, que permite la organización de diferentes fenómenos característicos de la esquizofrenia. Las ganancias en este ámbito se ponen en relación con la hipersaliencia dopaminérgica característica del brote esquizofrénico. Por último, se reconocen las limitaciones del modelo propuesto, que no dejan de ser las mismas que las de la psiquiatría, obligada a moverse entre la neurociencia y la persona, ámbitos de conocimiento mutuamente irreductibles

Registration of Great Northern Common Bean Cultivar ‘Coyne’ with Enhanced Disease Resistance to Common Bacterial Blight and Bean Rust

Great northern common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) ‘Coyne’ (Reg. No. CV-287, PI 655574) was developed by the dry bean breeding program at the University of Nebraska Agricultural Research Division and released in 2008. It was bred specifically for adaptation to Nebraska growing conditions and for enhanced resistance to common bacterial blight (CBB), a major disease of common bean caused by the seed-borne bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. phaseoli (Smith) Dye, and bean common rust Uromyces appendiculatus (Pers.:Pers) Unger. Coyne is a great northern F7:8 line derived from a three-way cross (G95023/Weihing//BelMiNeb-RMR-11). The first cross was made in winter 2003. The F7:8 was tested in advanced yield trials at Scottsbluff and Mitchell, NE, and in growers’ fields in Nebraska. Yield of Coyne was only 47 kg ha–1 lower than ‘Marquis’ in Morrill and Scotts Bluff, NE, counties. Reaction of Coyne to CBB under field conditions was consistent across 3 yr at the West Central Research and Extension Center, North Platte, NE, where fi eld disease ratings of 3.2, 3.5, and 4.4 were recorded in 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively. Coyne has the Ur-3 and Ur-6 genes for resistance to common bean rust and carries the single dominant hypersensitive I gene that provides resistance to all non-necrotic strains of Bean common mosaic virus. Coyne has bright white seed, blooms 44 d after planting, and is a midseason bean, maturing 91 d after planting

Robotized spraying of prefabricated panels

A robotic manufacturing cell of pre-fabricated glass reinforced cement panels for construction industry has been developed by DISAM for the Spanish construction company Dragados, SA. The main contribution of the developed system is the automatic programming and control of the whole plan. The architect's 3D-drawing of the building facade done on a CAD system serves as input. From the CAD design, the optimum facade to panels partition is obtained. In order to manufacture each panel, automatic task and path planning are performed for the equipment present in the manufacturing cell: spraying robot, PLCs, control computer, etcThis work was supported by the construction company Dragados, S.A. and the Spanish Ministry of Industry under project PAUTA 1691/91. The authors thank A. Garcia, E. Pinto, 1. Florez, E. Marquez, C. Corpas, 1. Arauzo and A. Cases, and the staff of the Caracola factory in Torrejon de Ardoz (Madrid). Thanks are also due to Christian Schafer for his assistance with the final manuscript.Publicad

Evaluation of Potential Pain Biomarkers in Saliva and Pain Perception After Corneal Advanced Surface Ablation Surgery

Purpose: To evaluate the evolution of a set of proposed pain biomarkers in the saliva of subjects following Advanced Surface Ablation (ASA), in order to determine their validity as objective pain measures. Methods: A multicenter, prospective, and descriptive study was carried out to assess the variations between biomarkers and perceived pain. The Inclusion criteria were healthy subjects who underwent a bilateral, alcohol-assisted surface ablation with epithelial removal (ASA). Pain intensity before and after surgery was assessed by Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS). Cortisol, sAA, sIgA, testosterone, and sTNF alpha RII were assayed at four-time points (V0, baseline; V1, pre-surgery; V2, 1 hr post-surgery, and V3, 72 hrs post-surgery). Comorbidities and Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HADS) questionnaires were administrated before and at 6 hrs after the surgery. All patients were treated with cold patches, topical steroids, topical cold antibiotics, and benzodiazepines after ASA surgery. A descriptive analysis of biomarkers and pain intensity evolution and the agreement between biomarkers and pain was performed. Results: Concentration of sIgA and sTNF alpha RII post-surgery was significantly higher at each visit compared to baseline (p-value: 0.053, p-value: < 0.001, respectively). Relations between VAS scale score and putative biomarker variations were not statistically significant except for the sIgA but only at visit 0 (p-value: 0.024). The HADS questionnaire showed anxiety scores between 0 and 7 in all patients before and at 6 hrs after surgery. Conclusion: In this study, sIgA and sTNF alpha RII are the two potential biomarkers that present correlation with the VAS and these salivary substances showed acceptable levels of reproducibility in healthy subjects

Socioeconomic factors and severity of periodontal disease in adults (35-44 years). A cross sectional study

Periodontal disease or periodontitis is an inflammatory disease with a hight prevalence. According to the last oral health survey of the Spanish population, between 24% and 37% of Spaniards aged over 35 years have periodontitis and 6% to 10% of the adult population have deep periodontal pockets. The aim of this study was to determine the association between risk factors and the presence of periodontal pockets in the adult population. A cross sectional or prevalence study of a representative sample of the adult population of the Valencia region was designed. The sample was recruited at 35 health centres, The study was conducted in November and December 2006 under standardized conditions as regards light sources, equipment and instruments and the position of the three previously calibrated dentist examiners. The sample examined consisted of 733 individuals (220 men and 513 women). Measured by the CPI, 13% were healthy and 5.5% presented bleeding. The prevalence of calculus was 59.3%, that of 3.5-5.5 mm pockets was 15.8% and that of pockets deeper than 5.5 mm was 4.6%. Almost half the sextants were healthy (2.89), 0.61 presented bleeding and 1.74 presented calculus. The mean number of sextants affected by 3.5-5.5 mm pockets was 0.46 and 0.07 presented deep pockets (>5.5 mm). An adjusted multiple logistic regression model with the presence of periodontal pockets as the dependent variable showed that the significant independent variables were low social class (OR=1.81), smoking (OR=1.68), primary education (OR=1.57), male gender (OR=1.56) and age (OR=1.08). The other study variables were not significant in this model. Socioeconomic factors such as primary education and low social class, as well as gender, age and smoking, were found to be associated to a significant degree with greater prevalence of periodontal disease in the adult population