Prevention and Intervention Strategies for the Sexual Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Who Run Away from Foster Care: A Scoping Review.

Literature on human trafficking suggests the vulnerability to commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) and child sexual abuse (CSA) changes by the prevalence of certain risk factors (e.g., runaway), trafficker-used lures (e.g., isolation), and the environmental conditions present at the time of victimization (e.g., foster care). Often, youth in foster care are at high risk for CSEC and CSA victimization associated with runaway instances. This scoping review aims to identify prevention and intervention strategies for CSEC/CSA of youth who run away from foster care. PRISMA scoping review guidelines were followed to review the literature across two search parameters (CSEC; CSA). An electronic review was conducted between August 2022 and January 2023 across four databases: PubMed, SAGE Journals Online, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science. The CSEC and CSA search parameters comprised three domains (sexual exploitation, foster care, and runaway; sexual abuse, foster care, and runaway, respectively). Literature published between 2012 and 2022 was included regardless of the methodological approach. Literature not concerning youth who run from foster care was excluded. Database searches yielded 206 publications for CSEC and 351 for CSA, reduced to 185 and 212, respectively, after removing duplicates. Seventy-one articles were identified, of which, 64 articles (28 CSEC, 36 CSA) were categorized as prevention strategies and seven (five CSEC, two CSA) as interventions. The intersection and dual victimization of CSEC and CSA of youth who run away from foster care are discussed. This paper also discusses applied behavior analysis principles for developing function-based interventions.

Optical Flow-Based Obstacle Detection for Mid-Air Collision Avoidance.

The sky may seem big enough for two flying vehicles to collide, but the facts show that mid-air collisions still occur occasionally and are a significant concern. Pilots learn manual tactics to avoid collisions, such as see-and-avoid, but these rules have limitations. Automated solutions have reduced collisions, but these technologies are not mandatory in all countries or airspaces, and they are expensive. These problems have prompted researchers to continue the search for low-cost solutions. One attractive solution is to use computer vision to detect obstacles in the air due to its reduced cost and weight. A well-trained deep learning solution is appealing because object detection is fast in most cases, but it relies entirely on the training data set. The algorithm chosen for this study is optical flow. The optical flow vectors can help us to separate the motion caused by camera motion from the motion caused by incoming objects without relying on training data. This paper describes the development of an optical flow-based airborne obstacle detection algorithm to avoid mid-air collisions. The approach uses the visual information from a monocular camera and detects the obstacles using morphological filters, optical flow, focus of expansion, and a data clustering algorithm. The proposal was evaluated using realistic vision data obtained with a self-developed simulator. The simulator provides different environments, trajectories, and altitudes of flying objects. The results showed that the optical flow-based algorithm detected all incoming obstacles along their trajectories in the experiments. The results showed an F-score greater than 75% and a good balance between precision and recall.

An exploratory study of the effect of age and gender on face scanning during affect recognition in immersive virtual reality.

A person with impaired emotion recognition is not able to correctly identify facial expressions represented by other individuals. The aim of the present study is to assess eyes gaze and facial emotion recognition in a healthy population using dynamic avatars in immersive virtual reality (IVR). For the first time, the viewing of each area of interest of the face in IVR is studied by gender and age. This work in healthy people is conducted to assess the future usefulness of IVR in patients with deficits in the recognition of facial expressions. Seventy-four healthy volunteers participated in the study. The materials used were a laptop computer, a game controller, and a head-mounted display. Dynamic virtual faces randomly representing the six basic emotions plus neutral expression were used as stimuli. After the virtual human represented an emotion, a response panel was displayed with the seven possible options. Besides storing the hits and misses, the software program internally divided the faces into different areas of interest (AOIs) and recorded how long participants looked at each AOI. As regards the overall accuracy of the participants' responses, hits decreased from the youngest to the middle-aged and older adults. Also, all three groups spent the highest percentage of time looking at the eyes, but younger adults had the highest percentage. It is also noteworthy that attention to the face compared to the background decreased with age. Moreover, the hits between women and men were remarkably similar and, in fact, there were no statistically significant differences between them. In general, men paid more attention to the eyes than women, but women paid more attention to the forehead and mouth. In contrast to previous work, our study indicates that there are no differences between men and women in facial emotion recognition. Moreover, in line with previous work, the percentage of face viewing time for younger adults is higher than for older adults. However, contrary to earlier studies, older adults look more at the eyes than at the mouth.Consistent with other studies, the eyes are the AOI with the highest percentage of viewing time. For men the most viewed AOI is the eyes for all emotions in both hits and misses. Women look more at the eyes for all emotions, except for joy, fear, and anger on hits. On misses, they look more into the eyes for almost all emotions except surprise and fear.

Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in mercury mining workers in a precarious situation: A preliminary study.

Mercury is a ubiquitous environmental xenobiotic; the primary sources of exposure to this metal are artisanal gold mining and the direct production of mercury. In Mexico, artisanal mercury mining continues to be an important activity in different regions of the country. Exposure to mercury vapors releases can have severe health impacts, including immunotoxic effects such as alterations in cytokine profiling. Therefore, in the present work, we evaluated the inflammatory cytokines profile in the blood serum of miners exposed to mercury. A cross-sectional observational study was performed on 27 mining workers (exposed group) and 20 control subjects (nonexposed group) from central Mexico. The mercury urine concentration (U-Hg) was determined by atomic absorption spectrometry, and IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α were measured using a Multiplex Assay. The results showed that the U-Hg in the miners had a median value of 552.70 µg/g creatinine. All cytokines showed a significant increase in the miner group compared with the control group, except for TNF-α. In addition, we observed a positive correlation between U-Hg concentration and cytokine levels. In conclusion, mercury exposure correlated with cytokine levels (considered acute inflammatory marker) in miners; therefore, workers exposed to this metal show an acute systemic inflammation that could lead to alterations in other organs and systems.

Influence of photoactivation on tissue response to different dyes used in photodynamic therapy and laser ablation therapy.

Laser ablation therapy (LA) uses Indocyanine Green dye (ICG) which efficiently absorbs laser energy and the increased temperature results in an instantaneous flame that chars tissue and microbes. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses different dyes that are activated by light to kill bacteria. This study evaluated the biocompatibility of the dye Curcumin (CUR), Methylene Blue (MB), and Indocyanine Green (ICG) before and after laser activation (ACT). Polyethylene tubes containing one of the dyes were implanted in the subcutaneous tissue of 32 rats (4 tubes per rat) which were divided into 8 groups: C - control (saline solution); C + ACT (Red Laser 660 nm); CUR; CUR + ACT (480 nm blue LED); MB; MB + ACT (Red Laser 660 nm); ICG; ICG + ACT (810 nm Infrared Laser). After 7 and 30 days (n = 8/time), the rats were euthanized and the tubes with the surrounding tissue were removed and processed for histological analysis of inflammation using H&E stain, and collagen fiber maturation using picrosirius red (PSR). A two-way analysis of variance statistical test was applied (p < 0.05). At 7 days, regardless of laser activation, the CUR group showed a greater inflammatory infiltrate compared to the ICG and control groups, and the MB group had a greater inflammation only in relation to the control (p < 0.05). At 30 days, CUR and MB groups showed a greater inflammatory infiltrate than the control (p < 0.05). ICG group was equal to the control in both periods, regardless of the laser activation (p > 0.05). Laser activation induced the proliferation of collagen immature fibers at 7 days, regardless of the dye (p < 0.05). The CUR group showed a lower percentage of immature and mature fibers at 7 days, compared to ICG and control (p < 0.05) and, at 30 days, compared to control (p < 0.05). Regardless of laser activation, the ICG showed the results of collagen maturation closest to the control (p > 0.05). It was concluded that all dyes are biocompatible and that laser activation did not interfere with biocompatibility. In addition, the maturity of collagen was adequate before and after the laser activation. These results demonstrate that the clinical use of dyes is safe even when activated with a laser.

The network structure of hematopoietic cancers.

Hematopoietic cancers (HCs) are a heterogeneous group of malignancies that affect blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system. Here, by analyzing 1960 RNA-Seq samples from three independent datasets, we explored the co-expression landscape in HCs, by inferring gene co-expression networks (GCNs) with four cancer phenotypes (B and T-cell acute leukemia -BALL, TALL-, acute myeloid leukemia -AML-, and multiple myeloma -MM-) as well as non-cancer bone marrow. We characterized their structure (topological features) and function (enrichment analyses). We found that, as in other types of cancer, the highest co-expression interactions are intra-chromosomal, which is not the case for control GCNs. We also detected a highly co-expressed group of overexpressed pseudogenes in HC networks. The four GCNs present only a small fraction of common interactions, related to canonical functions, like immune response or erythrocyte differentiation. With this approach, we were able to reveal cancer-specific features useful for detection of disease manifestations.

Vision-Based Flying Obstacle Detection for Avoiding Midair Collisions: A Systematic Review.

This paper presents a systematic review of articles on computer-vision-based flying obstacle detection with a focus on midair collision avoidance. Publications from the beginning until 2022 were searched in Scopus, IEEE, ACM, MDPI, and Web of Science databases. From the initial 647 publications obtained, 85 were finally selected and examined. The results show an increasing interest in this topic, especially in relation to object detection and tracking. Our study hypothesizes that the widespread access to commercial drones, the improvements in single-board computers, and their compatibility with computer vision libraries have contributed to the increase in the number of publications. The review also shows that the proposed algorithms are mainly tested using simulation software and flight simulators, and only 26 papers report testing with physical flying vehicles. This systematic review highlights other gaps to be addressed in future work. Several identified challenges are related to increasing the success rate of threat detection and testing solutions in complex scenarios.

Effect of Action Units, Viewpoint and Immersion on Emotion Recognition Using Dynamic Virtual Faces.

Facial affect recognition is a critical skill in human interactions that is often impaired in psychiatric disorders. To address this challenge, tests have been developed to measure and train this skill. Recently, virtual human (VH) and virtual reality (VR) technologies have emerged as novel tools for this purpose. This study investigates the unique contributions of different factors in the communication and perception of emotions conveyed by VHs. Specifically, it examines the effects of the use of action units (AUs) in virtual faces, the positioning of the VH (frontal or mid-profile), and the level of immersion in the VR environment (desktop screen versus immersive VR). Thirty-six healthy subjects participated in each condition. Dynamic virtual faces (DVFs), VHs with facial animations, were used to represent the six basic emotions and the neutral expression. The results highlight the important role of the accurate implementation of AUs in virtual faces for emotion recognition. Furthermore, it is observed that frontal views outperform mid-profile views in both test conditions, while immersive VR shows a slight improvement in emotion recognition. This study provides novel insights into the influence of these factors on emotion perception and advances the understanding and application of these technologies for effective facial emotion recognition training.

Trophic assessment of three sympatric batoid species in the Southern Gulf of California.

The competitive exclusion principle establishes that the coexistence of closely related species requires a certain degree of resource partitioning. However, populations have individuals with different morphological or behavioral traits (e.g., maturity stages, sexes, temporal or spatial segregation). This interaction often results in a multi-level differentiation in food preferences and habits. We explored such resource partitioning between and within three batoid species: Hypanus dipterurus, Narcine entemedor, and Rhinoptera steindachneri in the southern Gulf of California, Mexico, using a combination of stomach content (excluding R. steindachneri) and stable isotope analyses. We found a clear differentiation between H. dipterurus and N. entemedor, where the latter exhibited more benthic habitats, supported by a greater association to infaunal prey and higher δ13C values. Though the degree and patterns of intra-specific segregation varied among species, there was a notable differentiation in both sex and stage of maturity, corresponding to changes in specialization (i.e., isotopic niche breadth) or trophic spectrum (varying prey importance and isotopic values per group). This work is a promising step towards understanding the dietary niche dynamics of these species in a potentially important feeding area within the southern Gulf of California, as well as the biological and ecological mechanisms that facilitate their coexistence.

Psychometric Validity of the Areas of Work Life Scale (AWS) in Teachers and Healthcare Workers in México.

The areas of work life scale (AWS) has shown to be a suitable marker of perceived fit between employees' abilities and the psychosocial demands of the job, but validation studies are practically nonexistent in the Latino population. The purpose of this study was twofold: firstly, to examine the factor structure, reliability, and invariance between sex and occupation of the AWS scale, and secondly, to test the AWS-burnout relationship within the framework of the structural mediational model proposed by Leiter and Maslach (2005). N = 305 health workers and N = 324 teachers from different work settings answered the AWS and MBI-GS scales. In this study, 64.4% of the participants were females (N = 405), and the mean age was 34.7 (sd = 11.7, rank = 56). Robust methods for statistical analyses were used. The results showed that the original version had marginal fit indices due to a method effect (negative phrasing items), and when seven negative items were removed, a final best model was found (CFI = 0.997; RMSEA = 0.060; SRMRu = 0.047). Non-invariance between occupation and sex was found, and the internal consistency was from marginal to satisfactory (ω = 0.658 to 0.840). The mediational structural model tested confirmed the expected associations between AWS and burnout. In conclusion, the Mexican translation of the AWS in its 22-reduced version showed reliability and validity in Mexican work contexts, specifically in healthcare workers and teachers.

Pseudogenes in Cancer: State of the Art.

Pseudogenes are duplicates of protein-coding genes that have accumulated multiple detrimental alterations, rendering them unable to produce the protein they encode. Initially disregarded as "junk DNA" due to their perceived lack of functionality, research on their biological roles has been hindered by this assumption. Nevertheless, recent focus has shifted towards these molecules due to their abnormal expression in cancer phenotypes. In this review, our objective is to provide a thorough overview of the current understanding of pseudogene formation, the mechanisms governing their expression, and the roles they may play in promoting tumorigenesis.

Studying the impacts of test condition and nonoptimal positioning of the sensors on the accuracy of the in-situ U-value measurement.

The non-destructive thermal characterization of building envelopes relies significantly on various factors such as climate conditions, monitoring devices used, indoor environment, and conditioning systems. In the case of both the temperature-based method (TBM) and heat flux meter (HFM) approaches, U-value is determined considering the ideal condition of steady state. However, it is challenging to accurately define the true thermal condition of buildings when monitoring is affected by inherent uncertainties of the chosen approach and inadequate instrumentation of building envelopes. This paper presents the outcomes of an experimental campaign, that aimed to evaluate the impact of incorrectly positioned exterior sensors, on the precision of U-value measurements. This study simultaneously employed the TBM and HFM approaches. To enhance the accuracy of the results, rigorous outlier detection and statistical analysis were employed on the data collected from three autonomous monitoring systems. The findings of this study revealed that the applied data analysis yielded more satisfactory results for the TBM approach compared to HFM. However, regardless of the approach used, the effectiveness of outlier detection relied heavily on the accuracy of the monitoring systems. When removing an individual outlier, the monitoring systems characterized with higher accuracies provided U-values that were closer to the theoretical values, than less accurate ones.

Diseño curricular del programa académico de la Maestría en Informática Médica Aplicada

Introducción: el Ministerio de Salud Pública de Cuba realiza numerosos esfuerzos por garantizar la informatización de sus procesos, donde la superación profesional representa un eslabón fundamental. La Escuela Nacional de Salud Pública implementa la Maestría en Informática en Salud, dirigida a los profesionales del sector que participan en el proceso de informatización. Sin embargo, el programa actual no se enfoca hacia el desarrollo de habilidades técnicas de los especialistas informáticos. Objetivo: diseñar el programa académico de la Maestría en Informática Médica Aplicada, enfocado al desarrollo de habilidades técnicas de los especialistas informáticos, que desde su puesto de trabajo contribuyen a la informatización de la salud pública cubana. Materiales y métodos: la investigación tiene un enfoque cualitativo, con alcance descriptivo, de tipo retrospectivo y diseño no experimental, de corte longitudinal. Se realizó un análisis documental, donde se identificaron las bases teóricas y los programas académicos existentes, que fundamentan el diseño curricular presentado. Resultados: se diseñó la propuesta de programa académico de la Maestría en Informática Médica Aplicada, con una estructura de 78 créditos. Cuenta con tres bloques de cursos básicos y especializados en temas de salud e informática. Es coordinado por la Universidad de las Ciencias Informáticas en colaboración con la Escuela Nacional de Salud Pública. Conclusiones: el programa implementado es pertinente y contribuye al desarrollo de habilidades técnicas en los especialistas informáticos, que participan en el proceso de informatización de la salud pública cubana, muestra de ello lo constituyen las estadísticas de la primera edición en curso de la maestría.

Introduction: The Cuban Ministry of Public Health makes numerous efforts to guarantee the computerization of its processes, where professional improvement represents a fundamental link. The National School of Public Health implements the Master´s Degree in Health Informatics aimed at managers of the sector who participate in the computerization process. However, the current program does not focus on developing the technical skills of computer specialists. Objective: To design the academic program of the Master´s Degree in Applied Medical Informatics, focused on the development of technical skills of computer specialists who, from their work position, contribute to the computerization of the Cuban public health. Material and methods: The research has a qualitative approach and a descriptive, retrospective, non-experimental, longitudinal design. A documentary analysis was carried out, where the theoretical bases and existing academic programs were identified, which underpin the presented curriculum design. Results: The proposed academic program for the Master´s Degree in Applied Medical Informatics was designed, with a structure of 78 credits. It has three blocks of basic and specialized courses in health and computer science topics. It is coordinated by the University of Informatics Sciences in collaboration with the National School of Public Health. Conclusions: The implemented program is relevant and contributes to the development of technical skills in computer specialists who participate in the process of computerization of Cuban public health, which is evidenced by the statistics of the first ongoing edition of the master´s program.

Diseño de sistema basado en reglas para apoyar la toma de decisiones de la población en la obtención de los medicamentos

En Cuba, el acceso a los servicios farmacéuticos por parte de la población se ve afectado por la no disponibilidad de medicamentos y la lejanía de las farmacias. La falta de información acerca de la existencia de los medicamentos y la cantidad de estos en la red de farmacias cercanas a una ubicación geográfica, aparejados al poco suministro de medicamentos y la calidad de la prestación del servicio, genera descontento e inconformidad en la población. En la presente investigación se realiza un diseño para mejorar la problemática planteada a partir de un sistema basado en reglas como ayuda a la toma de decisiones para la obtención de los medicamentos por parte de la población. Se aplica un estudio de caso mediante el cual es posible sugerir al usuario las 5 farmacias más cercanas donde el paciente puede adquirir los medicamentos sobre las decisiones asumidas.

In Cuba, access to pharmaceutical services by the population is affected by the non-availability of medicines and the remoteness of pharmacies. The lack of information about the existence of medicines and the quantity of these in the network of pharmacies close to a geographical location, coupled with the low supply of medicines and the quality of service provision, generates discontent and nonconformity in the population. In the present investigation, a design is carried out to improve the problem raised from a system based on rules as an aid to decision-making to obtain medicines by the population. A case study is applied through which it is possible to suggest to the user the 5 closest pharmacies where the patient can acquire the medicines on the decisions made.

Facial emotion recognition in patients with depression compared to healthy controls when using human avatars.

The negative, mood-congruent cognitive bias described in depression, as well as excessive rumination, have been found to interfere with emotional processing. This study focuses on the assessment of facial recognition of emotions in patients with depression through a new set of dynamic virtual faces (DVFs). The sample consisted of 54 stable patients compared to 54 healthy controls. The experiment consisted in an emotion recognition task using non-immersive virtual reality (VR) with DVFs of six basic emotions and neutral expression. Patients with depression showed a worst performance in facial affect recognition compared to healthy controls. Age of onset was negatively correlated with emotion recognition and no correlation was observed for duration of illness or number of lifetime hospitalizations. There was no correlation for the depression group between emotion recognition and degree of psychopathology, excessive rumination, degree of functioning, or quality of life. Hence, it is important to improve and validate VR tools for emotion recognition to achieve greater methodological homogeneity of studies and to be able to establish more conclusive results.

Transdisciplinaridade entre psicologia e saúde pública, engajamento acadêmico na modalidade remota em época de pandemia / Transdisciplinarity between psychology and public health, academic engagement in remote modality during the pandemic era / Transdisciplinariedad entre psicología y salud pública, engagement académico en modalidad remota durante la era pandémica

OBJETIVO: Comparar o engajamento acadêmico durante a pandemia de COVID-19 em estudantes de duas universidades. METODOLOGIA: Estudo quantitativo, transversal, correlacional, analítico, utilizando a escala de engajamento acadêmico. A amostra foi composta por 650 alunos de psicologia, selecionados durante o ano de 2021 de forma não aleatória por conveniência, em duas universidades da Baixa Califórnia, México, uma privada e outra pública (319 e 331 alunos respectivamente), a escola privada com experiência anterior em educação à distância, e a segunda, com implantação de educação à distância emergencial durante a pandemia do COVID-19, a coleta de dados foi realizada virtualmente por meio de questionário. RESULTADOS: os alunos da universidade com experiência em educação à distância percebem, em média, um nível de engajamento acadêmico maior do que os universitários sem experiência em educação à distância. VALOR: A transdisciplinaridade de pesquisadores-acadêmicos nas áreas de psicologia e saúde coletiva trouxe evidências sobre a importância dos aspectos psicológicos (engajamento acadêmico) em novos paradigmas de pedagogia educacional (educação à distância), em meio a grandes problemas médico-epidemiológicos (pandemia de COVID-19). CONCLUSÕES: Concluiu-se que o nível de engajamento acadêmico dos alunos está vinculado à experiência anterior em educação à distância.

| OBJECTIVE: To compare academic engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic in students from two universities. METHODOLOGY: Quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational, analytical study, using the academic engagement scale. The sample was 650 undergraduate students in psychology, selected during the year 2021 in a non-random manner for convenience at two universities in Baja California, Mexico, one private and the other public (319 and 331 students respectively), the private school with experience previous in remote education, and the public school migrated to emergency remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic, data collection was carried out virtually through a questionnaire. RESULTS: University students with experience in remote education perceive on average a higher level of academic engagement than university students without experience in remote education. VALUE: The transdisciplinarity of researchers-academics in the areas of psychology and public health, provided evidence on the importance of psychological aspects (academic engagement) in new paradigms of educational pedagogy (remote education), in the midst of major medical-epidemiological problems (COVID 19 pandemic). CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that the level of academic engagement of the students is linked to previous experience in remote education.

OBJETIVO: Comparar el engagement académico durante la pandemia COVID-19 en estudiantes de dos universidades. METODOLOGÍA: Estudio cuantitativo, transversal, correlacional, analítico, utilizando la escala engagement académico. La muestra fue de 650 estudiantes de licenciatura en psicología, seleccionados durante el año 2021 de manera no aleatoria por conveniencia en dos universidades de Baja California, México, una privada y la otra pública (319 y 331 alumnos respectivamente), la escuela privada con experiencia previa en educación remota, y la escuela pública migró a la educación remota de emergencia durante la pandemia COVID-19, la recolección de datos se realizó de manera virtual mediante un cuestionario. RESULTADOS: Los estudiantes de la universidad con experiencia en educación remota perciben en promedio mayor nivel de engagement académico que la universidad sin experiencia en educación remota. VALOR: La transdisciplinariedad de los investigadores-académicos en las áreas de psicología y salud pública, aportó evidencia sobre la importancia de aspectos psicológicos (engagement académico) en nuevos paradigmas de la pedagogía educativa (educación remota), en medio de grandes problemas médico-epidemiológicos (pandemia por COVID 19). CONCLUSIONES: Se concluye que el nivel de engagement académico de los alumnos se vincula a la experiencia previa en educación remota.

Customizable, reconfigurable, and anatomically coordinated large-area, high-density electromyography from drawn-on-skin electrode arrays.

Accurate anatomical matching for patient-specific electromyographic (EMG) mapping is crucial yet technically challenging in various medical disciplines. The fixed electrode construction of multielectrode arrays (MEAs) makes it nearly impossible to match an individual's unique muscle anatomy. This mismatch between the MEAs and target muscles leads to missing relevant muscle activity, highly redundant data, complicated electrode placement optimization, and inaccuracies in classification algorithms. Here, we present customizable and reconfigurable drawn-on-skin (DoS) MEAs as the first demonstration of high-density EMG mapping from in situ-fabricated electrodes with tunable configurations adapted to subject-specific muscle anatomy. The DoS MEAs show uniform electrical properties and can map EMG activity with high fidelity under skin deformation-induced motion, which stems from the unique and robust skin-electrode interface. They can be used to localize innervation zones (IZs), detect motor unit propagation, and capture EMG signals with consistent quality during large muscle movements. Reconfiguring the electrode arrangement of DoS MEAs to match and extend the coverage of the forearm flexors enables localization of the muscle activity and prevents missed information such as IZs. In addition, DoS MEAs customized to the specific anatomy of subjects produce highly informative data, leading to accurate finger gesture detection and prosthetic control compared with conventional technology.

Fusión de datos multimodales de neurociencias generados en estudios EEG-fMRI, un análisis temático / Fusion of Multimodal Neuroscience Data Generated in EEG-fMRI Studies, a Thematic Analysis

La actividad cerebral tiene múltiples atributos, entre ellos los eléctricos, metabólicos, hemodinámicos y hormonales. Los métodos modernos para estudiar las funciones cerebrales como el PET (Tomografía por Emisión de Positrones), fMRI (Imagen de Resonancia Magnética Funcional) y MEG (Magnetoencefalograma) son ampliamente utilizados por los científicos. Sin embargo, el EEG es una herramienta utilizada para la investigación y diagnóstico debido a su bajo costo, simplicidad de uso, movilidad y la posibilidad de monitoreo a largo tiempo de adquisición. Para detectar e interpretar las características relevantes de estas señales, se describe cada proceso por su escala temporal (EEG) y espacial (fMRI). La presente investigación se enfoca en realizar una revisión bibliográfica sobre la integración de datos multimodales EEG-fMRI que propicie valorar su importancia para el desarrollo de algoritmos de fusión y su uso en el contexto cubano. Para ello se analizaron documentos con altos índices de citas en la literatura, donde se destacan autores precursores de los temas en análisis. Los estudios multimodales EEG-fMRI generan múltiples datos temporales y espaciales con alto valor para la medicina basada en evidencia. La integración de los mismos provee un valor agregado en la búsqueda de nuevos métodos diagnósticos, aplicando minería de datos, Deep learning y algoritmos de fusión. En este trabajo se pone de relieve la existencia de baja resolución temporal de fMRI y por otro lado la baja resolución espacial de EEG, por lo que la integración de ambos estudios aumentaría la calidad de su información(AU)

Brain activity has multiple attributes, including electrical, metabolic, hemodynamic, and hormonal. Modern methods for studying brain functions such as PET (Positron Emission Tomography), fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and MEG (Magnetoencephalogram) are widely used by scientists. However, the EEG is a tool used for research and diagnosis due to its low cost, simplicity of use, mobility and the possibility of long-term monitoring of acquisition. To detect and interpret the relevant characteristics of these signals, each process is described by its temporal (EEG) and spatial (fMRI) scale. The present research focuses on conducting a bibliographic review on the integration of multimodal EEG-fMRI data that favors assessing its importance for the development of fusion algorithms and their use in the Cuban context. For this, documents with high rates of citations in the literature were analyzed, where precursor authors of the topics under analysis stand out. Multimodal EEG-fMRI studies generate multiple temporal and spatial data with high value for evidence-based medicine. Their integration provides added value in the search for new diagnostic methods, applying data mining, Deep learning and fusion algorithms. This work highlights the existence of low temporal resolution of fMRI and, on the other hand, the low spatial resolution of EEG, so the integration of both studies would increase the quality of their information(AU)

Una mirada actual a la caracterización de datos y ficheros de neurociencias / A Current Look at Characterization of Neuroscience Data and Files

Para los neurocientíficos constituye un desafío realizar un seguimiento de los datos y metadatos generados en cada investigación y extraer con precisión toda la información relevante, hecho crucial para interpretar resultados y requisito mínimo para que los investigadores construyan sus investigaciones sobre los hallazgos anteriores. Se debe mantener tanta información como sea posible desde el inicio, incluso si esta pudiera parece ser irrelevante, además de registrar y almacenar los datos con sus metadatos de forma clara y concisa. Un análisis preliminar sobre la literatura especializada arrojó ausencia de una investigación detallada sobre cómo incorporar la gestión de datos y metadatos en las investigaciones clínicas del cerebro, en términos de organizar datos y metadatos completamente en repositorios digitales, recopilar e ingresar estos teniendo en cuenta su completitud, y sacar provecho de dicha recopilación en el proceso de análisis de los datos. Esta investigación tiene como objetivo caracterizar conceptual y técnicamente los datos y metadatos de neurociencias para facilitar el desarrollo de soluciones informáticas para su gestión y procesamiento. Se consultaron diferentes fuentes bibliográficas, así como bases de datos y repositorios tales como: Pubmed, Scielo, Nature, Researchgate, entre otros. El análisis sobre la recopilación, organización, procesamiento y almacenamiento de los datos y metadatos de neurociencias para cada técnica de adquisición de datos (EEG, iEEG, MEG, PET), así como su vínculo a la estructura de datos de imágenes cerebrales (BIDS) permitió obtener una caracterización general de cómo gestionar y procesar la información contenida en los mismos(AU)

For neuroscientists, it is a challenge to keep track of the data and metadata generated in each investigation and accurately extract all the relevant information, a crucial fact to interpret results and a minimum requirement for researchers to build their investigations on previous findings. Keep as much information as possible from the start, even if it may seem irrelevant and record and store the data with its metadata clearly and concisely. A preliminary analysis of the specialized literature revealed an absence of detailed research on how to incorporate data and metadata management in clinical brain research, in terms of organizing data and metadata completely in digital repositories, collecting and inputting them taking into account their completeness. , and take advantage of such collection in the process of data analysis. This research aims to conceptually and technically characterize neuroscience data and metadata to facilitate the development of computer solutions for its management and processing. Different bibliographic sources were consulted, as well as databases and repositories such as: Pubmed, Scielo, Nature, Researchgate, among others. The analysis on the collection, organization, processing and storage of neuroscience data and metadata for each data acquisition technique (EEG, iEEG, MEG, PET), as well as its link to the brain imaging data structure (BIDS) allowed to obtain a general characterization of how to manage and process the information contained in them(AU)

Behavioral intention of mental health practitioners toward the adoption of virtual humans in affect recognition training.

This paper explores the key factors influencing mental health professionals' behavioral intention to adopt virtual humans as a means of affect recognition training. Therapies targeting social cognition deficits are in high demand given that these deficits are related to a loss of functioning and quality of life in several neuropsychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, affective disorders, and acquired brain injury. Therefore, developing new therapies would greatly improve the quality of life of this large cohort of patients. A questionnaire based on the second revision of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) questionnaire was used for this study. One hundred and twenty-four mental health professionals responded to the questionnaire after viewing a video presentation of the system. The results confirmed that mental health professionals showed a positive intention to use virtual reality tools to train affect recognition, as they allow manipulation of social interaction with patients. Further studies should be conducted with therapists from other countries to reach more conclusions.