Correction to: Effectiveness of working memory training among children with dyscalculia: evidence for transfer effects on mathematical achievement-a pilot study.

The following errors require correction in the article. The authors apologize for these errors.

Effectiveness of working memory training among children with dyscalculia: evidence for transfer effects on mathematical achievement-a pilot study.

We examined whether the working memory (WM) capacity of developmentally dyscalculic children can be improved by a WM training program and whether outcomes relate to mathematical performance. The experimental design comprised two groups with developmental dyscalculia with grade 4 schooling: an experimental group (n = 14; mean age = 115.29 months) and a control group (n = 14; mean age = 116.07 months). All participants were assessed on measures of WM, mathematic attainment, and nonverbal mental ability (Raven test) before and after training. The WM training program focused on manipulating and maintaining arithmetic information. The results show that both WM and mathematical performances improved significantly after intervention, indicating a strong relationship between these two constructs. The control group improved slightly in Raven's progressive matrices and a reading number task. These findings are discussed in terms of near and far transfer toward trained and untrained skills and stress the positive impact of WM training on learning mathematics in children with dyscalculia.

Reading speed and phonological awareness deficits among Arabic-speaking children with dyslexia.

Although reading accuracy of isolated words and phonological awareness represent the main criteria of subtyping developmental dyslexia, there is increasing evidence that reduced reading speed also represents a defining characteristic. In the present study, reading speed and accuracy were measured in Arabic-speaking phonological and mixed dyslexic children matched with controls of the same age. Participants in third and fourth grades, aged from 9-10 to 9-8 years, were given single frequent and infrequent word and pseudo-word reading and phonological awareness tasks. Results showed that the group with dyslexia scored significantly lower than controls in accuracy and speed in reading tasks. Phonological and mixed dyslexic subgroups differed in infrequent and frequent word reading accuracy, the latter being worse. In contrast, the subgroups were comparable in pseudo-word identification and phonological awareness. Delayed phonological and recognition processes of infrequent and frequent words, respectively, were placed in the context of the dual route model of reading and the specific orthographic features of the Arabic language.

Investigation of effects of face rotation on race processing: an ERPs study.

Recent ERP research has indicated that the processing of faces of other races (OR) and same race (SR) as the perceiver differs at the perceptual level, more precisely for the N170 component. The purpose of the present study was to continue the investigation of the race-of-face processing across multiple orientations. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) and performance were recorded when Caucasian participants were required to categorize by race Caucasian and African faces presented in eight different angles of orientation. Three main observations were made: (1) the face-sensitive N170 is modulated by the race of faces, being larger in response to OR compared to SR faces; (2) face rotation affected this component in the same pattern for both racial groups; (3) the N170-ORE progressively disappeared as the faces moved away from their canonical orientation at the right hemisphere only. Thus, the current findings suggest that configural/holisitic information is extracted from faces of both racial groups, but that upright OR faces require increased demands.

Cavitary lung opacity of unusual cause during Behçet disease.

Pulmonary artery aneurysm must be evoked in front of any hemoptysis in a patient with Behçet disease as it requires urgent immunosuppressive therapy and often surgery.

Behavioral performances in participants with phonological dyslexia and different patterns on the N170 component.

Adults with phonological dyslexia and controls performed a lexical decision task while ERPs were recorded in the occipitotemporal pathway. Based on N170 durations, two subgroups were formed: dysl1 showing longer N170 durations and dysl2 showing normal N170 durations. While the dysl1 subgroup had poorer accuracy for infrequent words and pseudo-words, the dysl2 group responded more slowly than controls to pseudo-words. N170 amplitudes were larger in the left hemisphere for controls irrespective of items. In the dysl1 subgroup, N170 amplitudes were larger in the left hemisphere than the right for words but not for pseudo-words, a sign of hemispheric compensation, while in the dysl2 subgroup signs of bilateralization were observed. Moreover, in the dysl1 subgroup, P100 amplitudes were smaller than controls. These results indicate different behavioral profiles of dyslexics with different patterns of P100 and N170 components. The ERP changes may be due to different behavioral strategies employed by each subgroup, logographic in dysl2 and phonological in dysl1.

Reading-related abilities underlying phonological awareness: a cross-sectional study in children with and without dyslexia.

PURPOSE: The present cross-sectional study examined the individual role of rapid automatized naming (RAN), verbal short-term memory (VSTM), and phonological verbal fluency (PVF) along with word reading performance in predicting phonological awareness (PA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 225 Arabic speaking children from grades 2, 3, 4 and 5 took part in this study, divided into two groups of readers: typical developing readers and dyslexic readers. The participants were tested on word and pseudoword reading, phonological awareness, rapid naming, verbal short-term memory and phonological verbal fluency. RESULTS: There are different predictive patterns between the two groups. Whereas Raven and Grade contributed directly in predicting PA in typical readers, VSTM and PVF directly predicted PA in children with dyslexia. However, word reading played a dual role in the both groups as direct predictors of PA, mediating the predictive relationships between PA and the other variables. CONCLUSION: The results suggest the potential existence of an underlying phonological representation processing ability shared between PA, phonological access (RAN and PVF), VSTM, and word reading ability.

A diagnostic pitfall of a sternal mass.

Primary sternal lymphoma represents a rare entity which must be evoked in front of a sternal mass especially as its treatment is different from that of sarcomas, the principal etiology of sternal masses.

Mapping the Featural and Holistic Face Processing of Bad and Good Face Recognizers.

Individual abilities in face recognition (good versus bad recognizers) were explored by means of event-related potentials (ERPs). The adaptation response profile of the N170 component to whole faces, eyes and mouths was used in order to highlight the crucial role of individual abilities in identity repetition processes for unfamiliar faces. The main point of this study is to underline the importance of characterizing the performance (bad or good) of the participants and to show that behaviorally selected groups might reveal neural differences. Good recognizers showed selective right hemisphere N170 repetition effects for whole faces and not for features. On the contrary, bad recognizers showed a general repetition effect not specifically related to faces and more pronounced processing for features. These findings suggest a different contribution of holistic and featural analysis in bad and good performers. In conclusion, we propose that the N170 might be used as a tool to tease apart face encoding processes as a function of individual differences.

[Retrospective study of Galeazzi fractures in adults hospitalized in the Department of Orthopaedics at the Habib Bourguiba University Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia: about 45 cases]. / Etude rétrospective des fractures de Galeazzi chez l'adulte dans le Département d'Orthopédie du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Habib Bourguiba Sfax, Tunisie: à propos de 45 cas.

Galeazzi fracture is defined as the association of radius fracture and inferior radioulnar joint dislocation. Its diagnosis is often unrecognized initially. The purpose of our study is to determine the epidemioclinical features of Galeazzi fracture-dislocations in adults and to assess the functional and radiological outcomes of our case series. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study of 45 patients with Galeazzi fractures treated surgically whose data were collected in the Department of Orthopaedics at the Habib Bourguiba University Hospital, Sfax, Tunisia, over a period ranging from 2009 to 2018. We used Mestdagh score for the clinical evaluation of the results. The mean time between fracture and treatment initiation was 5.35 days. Fixation of the radius was performed using screwed plate in 39 cases and fixation of the radio-ulnar joint using a plug in 13 cases. The average time for union was 10.5 weeks. Outcomes were excellent in 35 patients, good in 3 patients, medium in 6 patients and adverse in a patient. We had 3 cases of sepsis at the level of the plug and two cases of malunions. Galeazzi fracture-dislocation is an under diagnosed disorder in some cases. Dynamic intraoperative examination after solid fixation of the radius can allow for good functional results.

[Surgical treatment of complex fractures of the upper end of the humerus: a retrospective study of 25 cases]. / Traitement chirurgical des fractures complexes de l'extrémité supérieure de l'humérus: étude rétrospective à propos de 25 cas.

Fractures of the upper end of the humerus raise a therapeutic problem in particular for three-fragment and 3 and 4-fragment complex fractures. The purpose of our study is to determine the epidemio-clinic features of complex fractures of the upper end of the humerus in adults and to assess the functional and radiological results in our case series. The study involved 25 patients whose data were collected in the Department of Orthopaedics at the Habib Bourguiba University Hospital between 2012 and 2017. We listed the epidemiological data of patients and the circumstances of the occurrence of the traumatism. Treatment was based on surgery: plate or nail osteosynthesis or prosthetics replacement. Post-operative radiographs were used to asses´ reduction. Constant-Murley score was used to assess functional outcomes at the follow-up visit. Twelve men and thirteen women were enrolled, the average age of patients was 55 years, public road accidents were reported in 48% of cases, and 4-fragment fractures were found in 76% of cases. Screwed plate osteosynthesis was used in 40% of cases and anterograde nailing was performed in 40% of cases. A prosthesis was put in place in 5 patients. Mean Constant-Murley score was 65.24, ranging between 35 years and 88 years. Consolidation of the fractures without malunions was reported in 68% of patients. In complex fractures of the upper end of the humerus, osteosynthesis performed according to patients´ needs and fracture types as well as early post-operative rehabilitation allow for acceptable functional outcomes.Domain: Orthopedic surgery.

Animal models of osteoarthritis: characterization of a model induced by Mono-Iodo-Acetate injected in rabbits.

Knee Osteoarthritis is a considerable public health concern, both in terms of life quality and treatment financial impacts. To investigate this disease, animal models are deemed a promising alternative. In fact, although a perfect model is generally farfetched, the creation of models that simulate human disease as accurately as possible remains an important research stake. This study aims to highlight the usefulness of the model induced by injected Mono-Iodo-Acetate and to standardize it for the rabbit species. Osteoarthritis was induced by an infra-patellar injection of 0.2 ml of an MIA solution in the left knee of 24 female New Zealand rabbits. The right knee served as a control by receiving an injection of physiological serum. The rabbits were divided into 4 groups of 6 individuals each according to the dose of MIA received per knee. All rabbits were euthanized 30 days after the injection. After sacrifice, the knees were carefully dissected and macroscopic and microscopic scores of cartilage, meniscal and synovial lesions were attributed to each group. Our study followed the laboratory animal care and management guideline published in 2017 by the Canadian Council of Animal Care. The control knees of all rabbits showed no macroscopic or microscopic lesions. The macroscopic lesions: osteophytes, meniscal lesions, fibrillation and erosion of the cartilage and microscopic lesions: disorganization of the chondrocytes, decrease in proteoglycans and synovial inflammation clinically diagnosed in human pathology were all detected and were similarly reproducible among the knees of the same group. Through this work, we highlighted the merits of the arthritis model induced by MIA, namely its simulation of several aspects of human pathology. Further advantages are low cost, speed, reproducibility. This model notably avoids delicate and risky surgical operations.

ERPs in anterior and posterior regions associated with duration and size discriminations.

The main objective of the present study was to determine whether event-related potentials (ERPs) predominant in prefrontal cortex (PFC) respond in a similar fashion to ERPs predominant in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in duration and size discrimination tasks. The results indicate that contingent negative variation (CNV) and P300 components changed according to task demands. In the time-related task, amplitudes and duration of both components increased as a function of stimulus duration and easier discriminability. This was not the case in the size discrimination task. These results are in accordance with the hypothesis of a functional link between PFC and PPC in timing behavior. The later-appearing LPCt component was observed in both tasks, but its amplitude increased only as a function of stimulus duration.

Differences in the temporal processing between identification and categorization of durations: A behavioral and ERP study.

This study examined how different forms of decision-making modulate time perception. Participants performed temporal bisection and generalization tasks, requiring them to either categorize a stimulus duration as more similar to short or long standards (bisection), or identify whether or not a duration was the same as a previously-presented standard (generalization). They responded faster in the bisection task than in the generalization one for long durations. This behavioral effect was accompanied by modulation of event-related potentials (ERPs). More specifically, between 500 ms and 600 ms after stimulus offset, a late positive component (LPC), appearing in the centro-parietal region, showed lower amplitude in the bisection task than in the generalization one, for long durations, mirroring the behavioral result. Before (200-500 ms) and after (600-800 ms) this window, the amplitude of the LPC was globally larger in the generalization paradigm, independently of the presented duration. Finally, the LPC amplitude was higher for long durations than for shorter ones at the beginning of the component (between 200 and 300 ms after stimulus extinction) and was then higher for short durations than for longer ones (between 300 and 600 ms after offset), indicating that the decision about the former stimuli was made earlier than for the latter ones. Taken together, these results indicate that the categorization of durations engages fewer cognitive resources than their identification.

Penile metastasis of colon carcinoma: A rare case report.

Despite being one of the most common primary tumors in the world, colon cancer only metastasizes to the penis in singular cases. We report the case of a 53 year-old male presenting with hematuria, pain and induration of the penis 2 and half years after the diagnosis of left colon cancer. CT scan demonstrated involvement of the corpus spongiosum and corpora cavernosa with enlarged external inguinal lymph nodes and asymptomatic metastasis in the liver and lungs. The finding of a penile lesion in a cancer patient is an alarming sign and should indicate a disseminated disease. The prognosis of penile metastasis is poor.

Pseudarthrosis of the Calcaneus: Advantages of Regenerative Medicine in the Management of a Rare Entity, A Case Report and Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND: The follow-up of calcaneal fractures has shown that they are difficult to manage and lead to multiple complications such as malunion and subtalar osteoarthritis. Pseudarthrosis of the calcaneus is an extremely rare complication, which was described in the literature through case reports.In the existing literature, only seven studies, including thirteen patients have reported the nonunion. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study elucidates the role of new techniques of regenerative medicine such as Bone Marrow Concentrates (BMC) or Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) in the management. METHODS: We report a case of a patient with a pseudarthrosis after a calcaneal fracture treated with BMC injection in the non-union site, without the need for surgical approach. RESULTS: Four months after treatment, the patient was ambulant without support and was completely pain-free. Moreover, after one year the radiological follow up by CT scan showed a satisfactory filling of the non union. CONCLUSION: In one case, we try to highlight the advantage of our therapeutic alternatives, which are having a good union while avoiding the complications of surgical approaches and without sacrificing the subtalar joint when it is possible.

The effects of familiarity and emotional expression on face processing examined by ERPs in patients with schizophrenia.

BACKGROUND: The main objective of the study was to determine whether patients with schizophrenia are deficient relative to controls in the processing of faces at different levels of familiarity and types of emotion and the stage where such differences may occur. METHODS: ERPs based on 18 patients with schizophrenia and 18 controls were compared in a face identification task at three levels of familiarity (unknown, familiar, subject's own) and for three types of emotion (disgust, smiling, neutral). RESULTS: The schizophrenic group was less accurate than controls in the face processing, especially for unknown faces and those expressing negative emotions such as disgust. P1 and N170 amplitudes were lower and P1, N170, P250 amplitudes were of slower onset in patients with schizophrenia. N170 and P250 amplitudes were modulated by familiarity and face expression in a different manner in patients than controls. CONCLUSIONS: Schizophrenia is associated with a genelarized defect of face processing, both in terms of familiarity and emotional expression, attributable to deficient processing at sensory (P1) and perceptual (N170) stages. These patients appear to have difficulty in encoding the structure of a face and thereby do not evaluate correctly familiarity and emotion.

N170 ERPs could represent a logographic processing strategy in visual word recognition.

BACKGROUND: Occipito-temporal N170 component represents the first step where face, object and word processing are discriminated along the ventral stream of the brain. N170 leftward asymmetry observed during reading has been often associated to prelexical orthographic visual word form activation. However, some studies reported a lexical frequency effect for this component particularly during word repetition that appears in contradiction with this prelexical orthographic step. Here, we tested the hypothesis that under word repetition condition, discrimination between words would be operated on visual rather than orthographic basis. In this case, N170 activity may correspond to a logographic processing where a word is processed as a whole. METHODS: To test such an assumption, frequent words, infrequent words and pseudowords were presented to the subjects that had to complete a visual lexical decision task. Different repetition conditions were defined 1--weak repetition, 2--massive repetition and 3--massive repetition with font alternation. This last condition was designed to change visual word shape during repetition and therefore to interfere with a possible visual strategy during word recognition. RESULTS: Behavioral data showed an important frequency effect for the weak repetition condition, a lower but significant frequency effect for massive repetition, and no frequency effect for the changing font repetition. Moreover alternating font repetitions slowed subject's responses in comparison to "simple" massive repetition.ERPs results evidenced larger N170 amplitude in the left hemisphere for frequent than both infrequent words and pseudowords during massive repetition. Moreover, when words were repeated with different fonts this N170 effect was not present, suggesting a visual locus for such a N170 frequency effect. CONCLUSION: N170 represents an important step in visual word recognition, consisting probably in a prelexical orthographic processing. But during the reading of very frequent words or after a massive repetition of a word, it could represent a more holistic process where words are processed as a global visual pattern.

ERPs associated with visual duration discriminations in prefrontal and parietal cortex.

An event-related potentials (ERP) study was undertaken to examine the role of prefrontal and parietal association cortices on selective attention and short-term memory functions in a duration discrimination task. Subjects performed better when discriminating the first stimulus relative to the second and not the reverse. Two contingent negative variations (CNV) were obtained for each stimulus duration at prefrontal regions, as well as two P300s at parietal regions. The CNV(S1) component recorded during the first stimulus (S1) appeared to be involved in selective attention at bilateral sites, while the P300(S1) component in the left hemisphere may be implicated in retaining it. The CNV(S2) wave, displayed during the second stimulus (S2), at bilateral sites and the right-sided P300(S2) wave seem to be implicated in working memory. The results indicate that recorded activity at prefrontal and parietal association cortices is tightly linked to task parameters and behavioral performances.

Scurvy: When it is a Forgotten Illness the Surgery Makes the Diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Unlike most of animal species, human beings lack the enzymatic process for the conversion of glucose to ascorbic acid (vitaminC), and therefore getting the vitamin from food sources is essential. The association of the various signs caused by a deficiency of vitamin C is called scurvy or Barlow's disease, an easily treatable disease but can be fatal. It is rare in the developed countries and even economically underdeveloped societies in which the basic diet is already rich in ascorbate. METHODS: We describe here the case of a 4-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, in whom diagnosis concerns were oriented for osteomyelitis, based upon clinical presentation, ultrasonic and magnetic resonance imaging, led to a surgery revealing subperiosteal hematomas that argues in favor of scurvy. RESULTS: After vitamin C therapy, the symptoms are gone and the general condition of the patient improved despite persistent radiological signs. CONCLUSION: Recent studies of sporadic cases report a high incidence of scurvy in children with autism or psychomotor retardation and the fact that musculoskeletal manifestations are more common. The mosaics of the symptoms of scurvy are varied and include dermatological, dental, bone and systemic manifestations, making it a forgotten and misdiagnosed illness. A heightened awareness is needed to avoid an unnecessary surgery, unnecessary tests and procedures and to be able to start treatment for a potentially fatal but easily curable disease.