Semantic parafoveal-on-foveal effects and preview benefits in reading: Evidence from Fixation Related Potentials.

During reading parafoveal information can affect the processing of the word currently fixated (parafovea-on-fovea effect) and words perceived parafoveally can facilitate their subsequent processing when they are fixated on (preview effect). We investigated parafoveal processing by simultaneously recording eye movements and EEG measures. Participants read word pairs that could be semantically associated or not. Additionally, the boundary paradigm allowed us to carry out the same manipulation on parafoveal previews that were displayed until reader's gaze moved to the target words. Event Related Potentials time-locked to the prime-preview presentation showed a parafoveal-on-foveal N400 effect. Fixation Related Potentials time locked to the saccade offset showed an N400 effect related to the prime-target relationship. Furthermore, this later effect interacted with the semantic manipulation of the previews, supporting a semantic preview benefit. These results demonstrate that at least under optimal conditions foveal and parafoveal information can be simultaneously processed and integrated.

Caregiver and social assistant robot for rehabilitation and coaching for the elderly.

BACKGROUND: Socially assistive robotics (SAR) has been a major field of investigation during the last decade and, as it develops, the groups the technology can be applied to and all ways in which these can be assisted are rapidly increasing. OBJECTIVE: The main objective is to design and develop a complete robotic agent, so that it performs physical and mental activities for elderly people to maintain their healthy life habits and, as a final result, improve their quality of life. METHODS: LEGO Mindstorms NXT® robot's unique capacity for adaptability and engaging its users to develop coaching activities and assistive rehabilitation for the elderly. Such activities will aim to enhance healthy habits and provide training in physical and mental rehabilitation. The robot is attached to an iPod Touch that acts as its interface. RESULTS: The robot has been tested by a voluntary group of residents, also from that retirement home. Results in the variables of the questionnaire show scores above 4 points out of 5 for all the categories. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the tests, an easy to use Robot is prepared to deliver basic coaching for physical activities as proposed by the client, the staff of La Misericordia, who confirmed their satisfaction regarding this aspect.

[Provision of continuous health care by a unit connected to primary care centres coordinated by specialist physicians]. / Aportación al continuo asistencial de una consulta de conexión con atención primaria coordinada con internistas.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of a system set up to overcome the current disparity between primary and specialist health care and with the capacity to detect patients with significant diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To describe the activity of the Unit for Connection with Primary Care Centres (UCPCC) in the Alcoy Health Area (Alicante) during its first year. RESULTS: A total of 450 visits were made, with 6.5 (95% CI 5.7-7.3) first visits, and 3.9 (95% CI 3.1-4.8) successive ones per day. There were more than 50 reasons for consultation, and more than 60 final diagnoses (65.6% non-significant, 14% undefined and 12.4% significant). Digestive (31%) and functional (14.4%) diseases were the most frequently defined diagnoses, with neoplasic and autoimmune diseases among those defined as significant ones. The great majority (86.9%) of patients required 1-2 visits, with 40% diagnosed by just reviewing the hospital files. More than 20 different complementary examinations were performed, with 38.8%, 34.4%, 21.6%, and 5.2% of patients requiring 0, 1, 2, or ≥ 3, respectively. Patients with a significant pathology were diagnosed more quickly (12.4 ± 19.4 vs. 45.3 ± 52.8 days; P = .001), with less complementary examinations (0,5 ± 0,7 vs. 0,9 ± 0,9 per patient; P = .032. 58.6% vs. 39.6% patients without complementary examinations; P = .052), and were more frequently referred to specialised medicine (58.6% vs. 18.3%, P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: The demonstrated differential management of patients with potentially significant pathology using existing resources, make the UCPCC with internists an efficient model for the connection between health care levels.

A family of highly active copper(I)-homoscorpionate catalysts for the alkyne cyclopropenation reaction.

Equimolar mixtures of ethyl diazoacetate and alkynes can be converted into cyclopropenes in very high yields, at room temperature, through the intermediacy of readily available Cu(I) catalysts containing trispyrazolylborate ligands.

Substitution and hydrogenation reactions on rhodium(I)-ethylene complexes of the hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands T (T = Tp, TpMe2).

The bis(ethylene) Rh species TpMe2Rh(C2H4)2(1*) (TpMe2 = tris(3,5-dimethyl-1-pyrazol-1-yl)hydroborate) has been obtained from [RhCl(C2H4)2]2 and KTpMe2. Complex 1* easily decomposes in solution to give mainly the butadiene species TpMe2Rh(eta74-C4H6). In the solid state its thermal decomposition follows a different course and the allyl TpMe2RhH(syn-C3H4Me) is cleanly obtained as a mixture of exo and endo isomers. The complexes Tp'Rh(C2H4)2 (Tp' = Tp, TpMe2) afford the monosubstituted species Tp'Rh(C2H4)(PR3) upon reaction with PR3 but react differently with L = CO or CNR: the Tp compound gives dinuclear [TpRh]2(mu-L)3 complexes, while, in the case of 1*, TpMe2Rh(C2H4)(L) species are obtained. The ethylene ligand of complexes TpMe2Rh(C2H4)(PR3) is labile, and several peroxo compounds of composition TpMe2Rh(O2)(PR3) have been isolated by their reaction with O2. All the mononuclear Rh(I) complexes are formulated as 18e- trigonal bipyramidal species on the basis of IR and NMR spectroscopic studies. A series of dihydride complexes of Rh(III) of formulation Tp'RhH2(PR3) have been prepared by the hydrogenation of the corresponding ethylene derivatives. Complexes [TpRh]2(mu-CNCy)3, TpMe2Rh(C2H4)(PEt3), and TpMe2Rh(O2)(PEt3) have been further characterized by X-ray diffraction studies.

Subunit oligomerization, and topology of the inositol 1,4, 5-trisphosphate receptor.

The inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP(3)R) is a tetrameric assembly of highly conserved subunits that contain multiple membrane-spanning sequences in the C-terminal region of the protein. In studies aimed at investigating the oligomerization and transmembrane topology of the type-1 InsP(3)R, a series of membrane-spanning region truncation and deletion plasmids were constructed. These plasmids were transiently transfected in COS-1 cells, and the resulting expression products were analyzed for the ability to assemble into tetrameric structures. The topology of the membrane-spanning region truncations and the full-length receptor was determined by immunocytochemical analysis of transfected COS-1 cells using complete or selective permeabilization strategies. Our results are the first to experimentally define the presence of six membrane-spanning regions. These results are consistent with the current model for the organization of the InsP(3)R in the endoplasmic reticulum and show that the truncation mutants are properly targeted and oriented in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane, thus making them amenable reagents to study receptor subunit oligomerization. Fractionation of soluble and membrane protein components revealed that the first two membrane-spanning regions were necessary for membrane targeting of the receptor. Sedimentation and immunoprecipitation experiments show that assembly of the receptor subunits was an additive process as the number of membrane-spanning regions increased. Immunoprecipitations from cells co-expressing the full-length receptor and carboxyl-terminal truncations reveal that constructs expressing the first two or more membrane-spanning domains were capable of co-assembling with the full-length receptor. Inclusion of the fifth membrane-spanning segment significantly enhanced the degree of oligomerization. Furthermore, a deletion construct containing only membrane-spanning regions 5 and 6 oligomerized to a similar extent as that of the wild type protein. Membrane-spanning region deletion constructions that terminate with the receptor's 145 carboxyl-terminal amino acids were found to have enhanced assembly characteristics and implicate the carboxyl terminus as a determinant in oligomerization. Our results reveal a process of receptor assembly involving several distinct yet additive components and define the fifth and sixth membrane spanning regions as the key determinants in receptor oligomerization.

Identification and functional reconstitution of the type 2 inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor from ventricular cardiac myocytes.

The inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (InsP3R) is an intracellular Ca2+ release channel that mediates the rise in cytoplasmic calcium in response to receptor-activated production of InsP3. The InsP3R-mediated signaling pathway appears to be ubiquitous and is involved in many cellular processes including cell division, smooth muscle contraction, and neuronal signaling. Different regions of the heart also express InsP3 receptors. We report here that acutely dissociated ventricular myocytes from ferret and rat hearts express significant levels of InsP3R as indicated by immunoblotting with a receptor consensus antibody. InsP3 binding experiments (KD = 23.6 nM and Bmax = 0.46 pmol/mg) suggest the myocytes contain the high affinity type 2 InsP3 receptor. Exhaustive mRNA screening by polymerase chain reaction, RNase protection, and subsequent DNA sequencing positively identify the InsP3R as type 2. The type 2 receptor from ferret heart was then incorporated into planar lipid bilayers and formed Ca2+-selective, InsP3-activated, heparin-blocked ion channels. We conclude that the predominant InsP3 receptor isoform expressed in cardiac myocytes is type 2 and that it forms a functional InsP3-gated Ca2+ channel when reconstituted in planar lipid bilayers.

Paleopathological evidence of the cranial remains from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). Description and preliminary inferences.

The large Sima de los Huesos sample provides for the first time the opportunity of performing a paleopathological study of a Middle Pleistocene population. A high frequency of bilateral temporomandibular arthropathy has been observed. We found an ear hyperostosis in Cranium 4, that probably caused deafness that we consider to be of infectious origin. Three osteomata were found in the cranial collection. One severe trauma was evident on the left supraorbital torus of an immature individual. Many cranial vault erosions, mostly restricted to the external table, are found in the sample. Cranium 5 displays thirteen of these. Cranium 5 also shows an extensive maxillary osteitis associated with a dental apical abscess, as well as another dental apical abscess in its mandible. Most of the adult frontal bones show a worm-like pattern of vascular channelling in the orbital roof, also found in modern populations.

Interproximal grooving in the Atapuerca-SH hominid dentitions.

The dental sample recovered from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) Middle Pleistocene cave site of the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain) includes 296 specimens. Interproximal wear grooves have been observed in 20 maxillary and mandibular posterior teeth belonging to at least five of the 32 individuals identified so far in the SH hypodigm. Interproximal grooving affected only the adults, and at an age between 25 and 40 years. The appearance, morphology, and location pattern of the SH wear grooves are similar to those reported in other fossil hominids and in more recent human populations. Two alternative proposals, the toothpicking and the fiber or sinew processing hypotheses, compete for explaining the formation of this anomalous wear. The characteristics observed in the wear grooves of the SH teeth are compatible only with the habitual probing of interdental spaces by means of hard and inflexible objects. Dietary grit may also have contributed to the abrasion of the root walls during the motion of the dental probes.

Enamel hypoplasia in the middle pleistocene hominids from Atapuerca (Spain).

The prevalence and chronology of enamel hypoplasias were studied in a hominid dental sample from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) Middle Pleistocene site at the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, northern Spain). A total of 89 permanent maxillary teeth, 143 permanent mandibular teeth, and one deciduous lower canine, belonging to a minimum of 29 individuals, were examined. Excluding the antimeres (16 maxillary and 37 mandibular cases) from the sample, the prevalence of hypoplasias in the permanent dentition is 12.8% (23/179), whereas the deciduous tooth also showed an enamel defect. No statistically significant differences were found between both arcades and between the anterior and postcanine teeth for the prevalence of hypoplasias. In both the maxilla and the mandible the highest frequency of enamel hypoplasias was recorded in the canines. Only one tooth (a permanent upper canine) showed two different enamel defects, and most of the hypoplasias were expressed as faint linear horizontal defects. Taking into account the limitations that the incompleteness of virtually all permanent dentitions imposes, we have estimated that the frequency by individual in the SH hominid sample was not greater than 40%. Most of the hypoplasias occurred between birth and 7 years (N = 18, X = 3.5, SD = 1.3). Both the prevalence and severity of the hypoplasias of the SH hominid sample are significantly less than those of a large Neandertal sample. Furthermore, prehistoric hunter-gatherers and historic agricultural and industrial populations exhibit a prevalence of hypoplasias generally higher than that of the SH hominids. Implications for the survival strategies and life quality of the SH hominids are also discussed.

Tumores óseos y odontogénicos de cara / Bone and odontogenic tumors of the face

Se analiza retrospectivamente el cuadro clínico y tratamiento de 5 casos de tumor odontogénico y 8 de tumor óseo de maxilar y mandíbula. Se compara edad de presentación, tamaño y velocidad de crecimiento tumoral mediante la T de Student. Entre los tumores odontogénicos hubo un ameloblastoma, un quiste dentígeno, un mixofibroma y 2 fibromas osificantes. Los tumores óseos fueron 2 displasias fibrosas, un fibroma desmoplástico, dos granulomas eosinófilos, un hemangiopericitoma maligno, un quiste aneurismático y un mieloma. La edad de presentación, tamaño y velocidad de crecimiento, no mostró diferencia entre ambos tipos de tumores. La radiologíia identificó el tipo de tumor en 2/13. Según su capacidad de infiltrar y recidivar, los tumores fueron tratados con curetaje; resección ósea o resección ósea y de tejidos blandos vecinos; 7 pacientes resecados fueron reconstruídos de inmediato con injerto óseo libre costal o coxal y 1 con prótesis de acrílico, la cual se axpuso y fué retirado. Hubo un secuestro óseo y una recidiva tumoral (fibroma osificante) que requirió cirugía complementaria. La evolución funcional maxilofacial postcirugía fué normal en 8/13 y deficiente en 5/13. El resultado anatómico fué bueno en 8, regular en 3 y malo en 1. Aquellos con secuelas funcionales correspondieron a los resultados anatómicos deficientes

Preparación preoperatoria abreviada en enfermedad de Basedow Graves / Abreviated presurgical preparation in Basedow Graves disease

Con el propósito de determinar la factibilidad de realizar una preparación preoperatoria abreviada mediante el uso de dexametasona(Dex) e iodato de sodio(IS) en pacientes con EBG, se analizan prospectivamente 11 casos tratados entre febrero de 1985 y abril de 1987. Su hipertiroidismo se determinó por hallazgos clínicos y de laboratorio y se sometieron a tiroidectomía subtotal bilateral, una vez obtenido el eutiroidismo, al 4o día de iniciada la preparación. Durante la intervención se evaluó el comportamiento hemodinámico y las características de la glándula, con el fin de establecer los efectos de agresión anestésico quirúrgica, observándose estabilidad hemodinámica y moderada disminución de la hipervascularización glandular. Mediante microscopia óptica y electrónica de las glándulas extirpadas se evaluaron las alteraciones histológicas producidas por la Dex e IS. No se registró mortalidad y sólo 2 ,pacientes presentaron seroma de herida operatoria