The Latin America Early Career Earth System Scientist Network (LAECESS): addressing present and future challenges of the upcoming generations of scientists in the region.

Early career (EC) Earth system scientists in the Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) have been facing several issues, such as limited funding opportunities, substandard scientific facilities, lack of security of tenure, and unrepresented groups equality issues. On top of this, the worsening regional environmental and climatic crises call for the need for this new generation of scientists to help to tackle these crises by increasing public awareness and research. Realizing the need to converge and step up in making a collective action to be a part of the solution, the Latin America Early Career Earth System Scientist Network (LAECESS) was created in 2016. LAECESS's primary goals are to promote regional networking, foster integrated and interdisciplinary science, organize soft skills courses and workshops, and empower Latin American EC researchers. This article is an initial step towards letting the global science community grasp the current situation and hear the early career LAC science community's perspectives. The paper also presents a series of future steps needed for better scientific and social development in the LAC region.

The Parietal Lobe in Alzheimer's Disease and Blindness.

The progressive aging of the population will notably increase the burden of those diseases which leads to a disabling situation, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and ophthalmological diseases that cause a visual impairment (VI). Eye diseases that cause a VI raise neuroplastic processes in the parietal lobe. Meanwhile, the aforementioned lobe suffers a severe decline throughout AD. From this perspective, diving deeper into the particularities of the parietal lobe is of paramount importance. In this article, we discuss the functions of the parietal lobe, review the parietal anatomical and pathophysiological peculiarities in AD, and also describe some of the changes in the parietal region that occur after VI. Although the alterations in the hippocampus and the temporal lobe have been well documented in AD, the alterations of the parietal lobe have been less thoroughly explored. Recent neuroimaging studies have revealed that some metabolic and perfusion impairments along with a reduction of the white and grey matter could take place in the parietal lobe during AD. Conversely, it has been speculated that blinding ocular diseases induce a remodeling of the parietal region which is observable through the improvement of the integration of multimodal stimuli and in the increase of the volume of this cortical region. Based on current findings concerning the parietal lobe in both pathologies, we hypothesize that the increased activity of the parietal lobe in people with VI may diminish the neurodegeneration of this brain region in those who are visually impaired by oculardiseases.

Cortical activity involved in perception and imagery of visual stimuli in a subject with aphantasia. An EEG case report.

Aphantasia has been described as the inability to voluntarily evoke mental images using the "mind's eye." We studied a congenital aphantasic subject using neuropsychological testsand 64 channel EEG recordings, in order to studycortical activity involved in perception and imagery evaluating event-related potentials(N170, P200, N250). The subject is in the normal range of the neuropsychological tests performed, except for specific imagery tests. The EEG results show that when he evokes the same mental image, he starts the evoking process from left temporal instead of frontal areas, he does not activate occipital visual nor left anterior parietal areas.

Connectivity adaptations in dopaminergic systems define the brain maturity of investors.

Investment decisions rely on perceptions from external stimuli along with the integration of inner brain-body signals, all of which are shaped by experience. As experience is capable of molding both the structure and function of the human brain, we have used a novel neuroimaging connectomic-genetic approach to investigate the influence of investment work experience on brain anatomy. We found that senior investors display higher gray matter volume and increased structural brain connectivity in dopamine-related pathways, as well as a set of genes functionally associated with adrenaline and noradrenaline biosynthesis (SLC6A3, TH and SLC18A2), which is seemingly involved in reward processing and bodily stress responses during financial trading. These results suggest the key role of catecholamines in the way senior investors harness their emotions while raising bodily awareness as they grow in investment maturity.

Spread of SARS-CoV-2 through Latin America and the Caribbean region: A look from its economic conditions, climate and air pollution indicators.

We have evaluated the spread of SARS-CoV-2 through Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region by means of a correlation between climate and air pollution indicators, namely, average temperature, minimum temperature, maximum temperature, rainfall, average relative humidity, wind speed, and air pollution indicators PM10, PM2.5, and NO2 with the COVID-19 daily new cases and deaths. The study focuses in the following LAC cities: Mexico City (Mexico), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Bogotá (Colombia), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Manaus (Brazil), Lima (Perú), Santiago (Chile), São Paulo (Brazil) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). The results show that average temperature, minimum temperature, and air quality were significantly associated with the spread of COVID-19 in LAC. Additionally, humidity, wind speed and rainfall showed a significant relationship with daily cases, total cases and mortality for various cities. Income inequality and poverty levels were also considered as a variable for qualitative analysis. Our findings suggest that and income inequality and poverty levels in the cities analyzed were related to the spread of COVID-19 positive and negative, respectively. These results might help decision-makers to design future strategies to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in LAC and around the world.

Identifying patterns and sources of anthropogenic trace metals in the Argentine Central Andes by using snow samples and an atmospheric dispersion model.

This study presents the first local measurements of metals in snow from the Argentine Central Andes. Cu, Pb and Zn were selected as specific tracers of anthropogenic local emission sources in the study area. Snow samples were collected during winter (2014, 2015 and 2016) at two sites with different characteristics: Punta de Vacas and Vallecitos. The samples were analyzed by ICP-MS, and the average concentrations found were 1.4 µg L-1 (Cu), 2.2 µg L-1 (Pb) and 14.2 µg L-1 (Zn) in the snow samples from Vallecitos, and 5.3 µg L-1 (Cu), 2.6 µg L-1 (Pb) and 24.0 µg L-1 (Zn) in the snow samples from Punta de Vacas. These data and the snowfall amount in each sampling site were statistically analyzed. Results suggested that the levels of metals in the snow are influenced not only by the atmospheric concentrations, but also by the amount of precipitated snow. Additionally, an atmospheric dispersion model, CALPUFF, was applied in the study area to determine the origin of the studied metals and to understand the spatial distribution pattern of the concentrations found. Results showed that the metal atmospheric loads in the study area originated from local sources, especially vehicular traffic and mining. This work represents an important contribution to the knowledge and preservation of the local Andean cryosphere, and it could be used as an input to develop protection policies in the area through the combination of different and complementary tools for the evaluation of air quality.

Limitations of Standard Accessible Captioning of Sounds and Music for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People: An EEG Study.

Captioning is the process of transcribing speech and acoustical information into text to help deaf and hard of hearing people accessing to the auditory track of audiovisual media. In addition to the verbal transcription, it includes information such as sound effects, speaker identification, or music tagging. However, it just takes into account a limited spectrum of the whole acoustic information available in the soundtrack, and hence, an important amount of emotional information is lost when attending just to the normative compliant captions. In this article, it is shown, by means of behavioral and EEG measurements, how emotional information related to sounds and music used by the creator in the audiovisual work is perceived differently by normal hearing group and hearing disabled group when applying standard captioning. Audio and captions activate similar processing areas, respectively, in each group, although not with the same intensity. Moreover, captions require higher activation of voluntary attentional circuits, as well as language-related areas. Captions transcribing musical information increase attentional activity, instead of emotional processing.

Dataset supporting the estimation and analysis of high spatial resolution inventories of atmospheric emissions from several sectors in Argentina.

This data article provides an extensive and complete description of the high spatial resolution inventory (HSRI) estimation shown in the article "High resolution inventory of atmospheric emissions from livestock production, agriculture, and biomass burning sectors of Argentina" Puliafito et al. [1], and its comparison with several sectors in Argentina. The dataset provided are high-resolution inventories (0.025° × 0.025° lat/long) for CO2, CH4, N2O and another 8 species from livestock, biomass burning, agriculture and another 12 sectors (based on 2016 year). In addition, we also provide the database for 2014 using the same methodology. The dataset presented are necessary to improve input inventories for air quality models. Also, they are better to inform and guide the stakeholders, in making decisions related to environmental protection and health promotion, as well as assessing the environmental performance in terms of atmospheric emissions of an activity, sector or region in Argentina.

A N400 ERP Study in letter recognition after passive tactile stimulation training in blind children and sighted controls.

BACKGROUND: We previously demonstrated that using a sensory substitution device (SSD) for one week, tactile stimulation results in faster activation of lateral occipital complex in blind children than in seeing controls. OBJECTIVE: We used long-term haptic tactile stimulation training with an SSD to test if it results in stable cross-modal reassignment of visual pathways after six months, to provide high level processing of tactile semantic content. METHODS: We enrolled 12 blind and 12 sighted children. The SSD transforms images to a stimulation matrix in contact with the dominant hand. Subjects underwent twice-daily training sessions, 5 days/week for six months. Children were asked to describe line orientation, name letters, and read words. ERP sessions were performed at baseline and 6 months to analyze the N400 ERP component and reaction times (RT). N400 sources were estimated with Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA). SPM8 was used to make population-level inferences. RESULTS: We found no group differences in RTs, accuracy of identifications, N400 latencies or distributions with the line task at 1 week or at 6 months. RTs on the letter recognition task were also similar. After 6 months, behavioral training increased accurate letter identification in both seeing and blind children (Chi 2 = 11906.934, p = 0.000), but the increase was larger in blind children (Chi 2 = 8.272, p = 0.004). Behavioral training shifted peak N400 amplitude to left occipital and bilateral parietal cortices in blind children, but to left precentral and postcentral and bilateral occipital cortices in sighted controls. CONCLUSIONS: Blind children learn to recognize SSD-delivered letters better than seeing controls and had greater N400 amplitude in the occipital region. To the best of our knowledge, our results provide the first published example of standard letter recognition (not Braille) by children with blindness using a tactile delivery system.

Effect of the HERVAT neuroeducational program on evoked potential P300 in children with attention deficit disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Attention deficit disorder (ADD) has been investigated from various perspectives. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this condition remain unknown. Evoked potentials, including P300, can be used to investigate the processes underlying deficient attentional and cognitive functions in children with ADD. METHODS: In this study, we analyze the effect of a neuroeducational program, HERVAT (Hidratación [hydration], Equilibrio [balance], Respiración [breathing], Visión [vision], Audición [hearing], Tacto [touch]), on evoked potential P300 in a group of children aged 7-11 years with ADD. RESULTS: At the end of the study, the latency of P300 improved and brain activity was reorganized toward frontal areas in children with ADD who undertook the HERVAT program. In the control group, on the other hand, the latency of P300 and the posterior cortical areas remained unchanged during tests to discriminate between multisensory stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the neuroeducational program HERVAT effectively shortened the latency of evoked potential P300, which is responsible for information processing in the brain, and reorganized brain activity from posterior areas toward frontal cortical areas, which are responsible for the attentional processes involved in executive function.

Diferencias en procesamiento cerebral visual temprano en niños con trastorno del déficit de atención / Differences in early visual cerebral processing in children with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorders with predominance of no attention

Para evaluar los procesos atencionales a estímulos visuales que no requieren repuesta motora, se llevó a cabo un estudio con potenciales evocados a 17 niños con trastornos del déficit de atención/ hiperactividad (TDAH-I) con predominio inatento y a 15 controles de edades entre 7 y 11 años. Se analizó la latencia y localización de fuentes de los potenciales evocados visuales tempranos P100 y N100 durante la realización de una tarea oddball visual (20% rayas horizontales y 80% verticales) en que las rayas verticales no exigían respuesta motora. Los resultados indican que los niños con TDAH-I procesan la información visual que no requiere respuesta motora con un mayor aumento de la actividad cerebral y mediante la vía temporal ventral mientras que el grupo control lo hace mediante la vía parietal dorsal. Este proceso neurobiológico de procesamiento de la información visual vía temporal ventral de los niños con TDAH-I podría deberse a alteraciones en los procesos emocionales que influyen directamente en el reconocimiento visual o a un déficit en el control de los procesos atencionales por parte de la vía parietal dorsal.

To evaluate attentional processes to visual stimuli that do not require motor response, a study with evoked potentials was carried out on 17 children with attention deficit disorder predominantly inattentive (ADDH-I) and 15 controls between the ages of 7 and 11 years. The latency and localization of sources of the early visual evoked potentials P100 and N100 were analyzed during the performance of a visual oddball task (20% horizontal and 80% vertical lines) where the vertical lines did not require motor response. The results indicate that ADDH-I group process visual information that does not require motor response with a greater increase in brain activity and through the ventral temporal pathway, while the control group does so by means of the dorsal parietal stream. This neurobiological process of visual information processing by ventral temporal pathway of ADDH-I group could be due to alterations in emotional processes that directly influence visual recognition or as consequence of deficit in the control of attentional processes by the dorsal parietal pathway.

Efecto del programa neuroeducativo HERVAT en el potencial evocado P300 en niños con trastorno por déficit de atención / Effect of the HERVAT neuroeducational program on evoked potential P300 in children with attention deficit disorder

Introducción. El trastorno por déficit de atención (TDA) ha sido estudiado desde muchos puntos de vista, sin embargo, todavía se desconocen los mecanismos neurobiológicos subyacentes al mismo. Los potenciales evocados y entre ellos el componente P300 pueden servir para investigar los procesos de las funciones cognitivas y atencionales deficitarios en los niños con TDA. Metodología. En este estudio analizamos la eficacia del programa del neuroeducativo HERVAT (acrónimo de Hidratación, Equilibrio, Respiración. Visión, Audición, Tacto) en el potencial evocado P300 en un grupo de niños, entre 7 y 11 años con TDA. Resultados. Los resultados indican que al final del estudio los niños con TDA que han hecho el programa HERVAT han mejorado la latencia del P300 y han reorganizado la actividad cerebral hacia áreas frontales mientras que el grupo control mantiene la misma latencia del P300 y las mismas áreas corticales posteriores durante la tarea de discriminación de estímulos multisensoriales. Conclusiones. Como conclusión podríamos decir que el programa neuroeducativo HERVAT manifiesta su eficacia en el acortamiento de la latencia del potencial evocado P300, responsable del procesamiento cerebral de la información, así como en la reorganización de la actividad cerebral desde áreas posteriores cerebrales hacia áreas corticales frontales, responsables de los procesos atencionales de las funciones ejecutivas

Introduction. Attention deficit disorder (ADD) has been investigated from various perspectives. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this condition remain unknown. Evoked potentials, including P300, can be used to investigate the processes underlying deficient attentional and cognitive functions in children with ADD. Methods. In this study, we analyze the effect of a neuroeducational program, HERVAT (Hidratacion [hydration], Equilibrio [balance], Respiracion [breathing], Vision [vision], Audicion [hearing], Tacto [touch]), on evoked potential P300 in a group of children aged 7-11 years with ADD. Results. At the end of the study, the latency of P300 improved and brain activity was reorganized toward frontal areas in children with ADD who undertook the HERVAT program. In the control group, on the other hand, the latency of P300 and the posterior cortical areas remained unchanged during tests to discriminate between multisensory stimuli. Conclusions. In conclusion, the neuroeducational program HERVAT effectively shortened the latency of evoked potential P300, which is responsible for information processing in the brain, and reorganized brain activity from posterior areas toward frontal cortical areas, which are responsible for the attentional processes involved in executive function

[Differences in early visual cerebral processing in children with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorders with predominance of no attention]. / Diferencias en procesamiento cerebral visual temprano en niños con trastornos del déficit de atención.

To evaluate attentional processes to visual stimuli that do not require motor response, a study with evoked potentials was carried out on 17 children with attention deficit disorder predominantly inattentive (ADDH-I) and 15 controls between the ages of 7 and 11 years. The latency and localization of sources of the early visual evoked potentials P100 and N100 were analyzed during the performance of a visual oddball task (20% horizontal and 80% vertical lines) where the vertical lines did not require motor response. The results indicate that ADDH-I group process visual information that does not require motor response with a greater increase in brain activity and through the ventral temporal pathway, while the control group does so by means of the dorsal parietal stream. This neurobiological process of visual information processing by ventral temporal pathway of ADDH-I group could be due to alterations in emotional processes that directly influence visual recognition or as consequence of deficit in the control of attentional processes by the dorsal parietal pathway.

Para evaluar los procesos atencionales a estímulos visuales que no requieren repuesta motora, se llevó a cabo un estudio con potenciales evocados a 17 niños con trastornos del déficit de atención/ hiperactividad (TDAH-I) con predominio inatento y a 15 controles de edades entre 7 y 11 años. Se analizó la latencia y localización de fuentes de los potenciales evocados visuales tempranos P100 y N100 durante la realización de una tarea oddball visual (20% rayas horizontales y 80% verticales) en que las rayas verticales no exigían respuesta motora. Los resultados indican que los niños con TDAH-I procesan la información visual que no requiere respuesta motora con un mayor aumento de la actividad cerebral y mediante la vía temporal ventral mientras que el grupo control lo hace mediante la vía parietal dorsal. Este proceso neurobiológico de procesamiento de la información visual vía temporal ventral de los niños con TDAH-I podría deberse a alteraciones en los procesos emocionales que influyen directamente en el reconocimiento visual o a un déficit en el control de los procesos atencionales por parte de la vía parietal dorsal.

Neurofuncionalidad ejecutiva: estudio comparativo en las altas capacidades / Executive neurofunctionality: a comparative study in high intellectual abilities

Introducción. Desde una perspectiva diferencial, la alta capacidad intelectual es una expresión del funcionamiento intelectual con unos correlatos funcionales característicos y unos correlatos estructurales de la actividad neural subyacente que sugieren una capacidad ejecutiva mejorada como característica relevante, destacando en ella una memoria de trabajo más eficaz. Desarrollo. Se analizan las evidencias neurocientíficas sobre los mecanismos neurales que pueden explicar las diferencias entre el funcionamiento intelectual de la alta capacidad intelectual y la capacidad intelectual típica, y se revisan las posibilidades que ofrece el registro de potenciales evocados para apresar procesos mentales fundamentales que permitan explicar las diferencias entre ellas. Conclusiones. Las evidencias neurocientíficas mediante electroencefalografía u otras técnicas de imaginería mental muestran que el cerebro, como correlato estructural de la alta capacidad intelectual, tiene mayor eficiencia neural, interconectividad y diferencias en la citoarquitectura. Es un cerebro que captura, comprende e interpreta la realidad de forma cualitativamente diferente. Pero las diferencias neurales son estructurales y la alta capacidad intelectual emerge de su plasticidad funcional. Es decir, es un cerebro preparado para una mejor regulación ejecutiva que no siempre guarda relación directa con la excelencia y la eminente manifestación de su potencialidad porque precisa de otros condicionantes como la motivación, la organización del conocimiento, rasgos personales de temperamento o perfeccionismo, y condicionantes exógenos (AU)

Introduction. From a differential perspective, high intellectual ability is an expression of intellectual functioning with characteristic functional correlates and structural correlates of the underlying neural activity that suggests an improved executive capacity as a relevant characteristic, highlighting in it a more effective working memory. Development. The neuroscientific evidences about the neural mechanisms that can explain the differences are analyzed between the intellectual functioning of the high intellectual ability and the typical intellectual capacity. The possibilities that offer the recording of evoked potentials to capture fundamental mental processes that allow explain the differences between them are put under review. Conclusions. Neuroscientific evidences through electroencephalography or other mental imagery techniques show that the brain, as a structural correlate of high intellectual abilities, has greater neural efficiency, interconnectivity and differences in the cytoarchitecture. It is a brain that captures, understands and interprets reality in a qualitatively different manner. But the neural differences are structural and the high intellectual capacity emerges from its plasticity functional. That is, it is a brain prepared for better executive regulation that is not always directly related with excellence and the eminent manifestation of its potentiality because it requires other conditioning factors such as motivation, the organization of knowledge, personal traits of temperament or perfectionism, and exogenous conditions (AU)

Brain circuit-gene expression relationships and neuroplasticity of multisensory cortices in blind children.

Sensory deprivation reorganizes neurocircuits in the human brain. The biological basis of such neuroplastic adaptations remains elusive. In this study, we applied two complementary graph theory-based functional connectivity analyses, one to evaluate whole-brain functional connectivity relationships and the second to specifically delineate distributed network connectivity profiles downstream of primary sensory cortices, to investigate neural reorganization in blind children compared with sighted controls. We also examined the relationship between connectivity changes and neuroplasticity-related gene expression profiles in the cerebral cortex. We observed that multisensory integration areas exhibited enhanced functional connectivity in blind children and that this reorganization was spatially associated with the transcription levels of specific members of the cAMP Response Element Binding protein gene family. Using systems-level analyses, this study advances our understanding of human neuroplasticity and its genetic underpinnings following sensory deprivation.

Six-Year Training Improves Everyday Memory in Healthy Older People. Randomized Controlled Trial.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Everyday memory of older persons does not improve with intensive memory training programs. This study proposes a change in these programs based on a time-extended and massive intervention format. DESIGN AND METHODS: The sample of 1007 healthy older persons (mean age 71.85; SD = 5.12) was randomized into 2 groups. The experimental group followed an extended 6 years of training (192 sessions over 192 weeks) whereas the control group received an intensive training (3 sessions per week for a total of 32 sessions in 11 weeks). The program included cognitive and emotional content whose effects were assessed with the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT) and with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Both groups were evaluated initially, after 32 sessions, and again after 6 years. RESULTS: The relative improvements measured with Blom's derivative showed that everyday memory and mental status of the experimental group were significantly better both in the short (Δ% 8.31 in RBMT and Δ% 1.51 in MMSE) and in the long term (Δ% 12.54 in RBMT and Δ% 2.56 in MMSE). For everyday memory and mental level, the overall gain estimate representing the mean difference in pre-post change between time-extended and intensive groups was 0.27 (95% CI: 0.13-0.40) and 0.54 (95% CI: 0.40-0.67), respectively. Time-extended programs have significantly improved everyday memory in contrast with the usual intensive programs whose effects decay with time. There are also significant increases in mental level scores while daily life functionality is preserved in all subjects who completed the training. IMPLICATIONS: These results suggest that it is possible to preserve everyday memory in the long term with continuous training and practice. Massive and time-extended formats may contribute in the future to a paradigm shift in memory programs for healthy older people.

Brain Plasticity in Blind Subjects Centralizes Beyond the Modal Cortices.

It is well established that the human brain reorganizes following sensory deprivations. In blind individuals, visual processing regions including the lateral occipital cortex (LOC) are activated by auditory and tactile stimuli as demonstrated by neurophysiological and neuroimaging investigations. The mechanisms for such plasticity remain unclear, but shifts in connectivity across existing neural networks appear to play a critical role. The majority of research efforts to date have focused on neuroplastic changes within visual unimodal regions, however we hypothesized that neuroplastic alterations may also occur in brain networks beyond the visual cortices including involvement of multimodal integration regions and heteromodal cortices. In this study, two recently developed graph-theory based functional connectivity analyses, interconnector analyses and local and distant connectivity, were applied to investigate functional reorganization in regional and distributed neural-systems in late-onset blind (LB) and congenitally blind (CB) cohorts each compared to their own group of sighted controls. While functional network alterations as measured by the degree of differential links (DDL) occurred in sensory cortices, neuroplastic changes were most prominent within multimodal and association cortices. Subjects with LB showed enhanced multimodal integration connections in the parieto-opercular, temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and ventral premotor (vPM) regions, while CB individuals exhibited increased superior parietal cortex (SPC) connections. This study reveals the critical role of recipient multi-sensory integration areas in network reorganization and cross-modal plasticity in blind individuals. These findings suggest that aspects of cross-modal neuroplasticity and adaptive sensory-motor and auditory functions may potentially occur through reorganization in multimodal integration regions.

Efecto de la estimulación táctil pasiva en la actividad cerebral de niños con déficit de atención / The effect of passive tactile stimulation in the brain activity of children with attention deficit

Introducción. Los potenciales evocados N200 y P300 han demostrado ser una herramienta de gran utilidad en el seguimiento de niños con trastorno por déficit de atención (TDA). Objetivo. Evaluar el procesamiento cerebral de la información mediante los componentes N200 y P300 en modalidad táctil en niños con TDA. Sujetos y métodos. Se registraron los componentes N200 y P300 de los potenciales evocados durante una tarea oddball de estimulación táctil en un grupo experimental de 17 niños con TDA al principio y al final de un entrenamiento mediante estimulación táctil diaria, en otro de 12 niños con TDA y en 21 niños control sin TDA que no recibieron estimulación táctil. Los tres grupos tenían edades comprendidas entre 7 y 11 años. Resultados. Los resultados indican una disminución significativa de la latencia de las ondas N200 y P300 en el grupo experimental al final del estudio. Se encontraron diferencias significativas en la N200 en el grupo experimental en áreas temporales parietales y occipitales, mientras que, en la P300, las diferencias se localizan en áreas poscentrales y parietales. Conclusión. La estimulación táctil de manera sistemática, ordenada y organizada en niños con TDA puede ser efectiva para la mejora de la latencia de los potenciales evocados N200 y P300, así como para una mayor plasticidad cerebral parietal, asociada a la atención perceptiva (AU)

Introduction. The N200 and P300 evoked potentials have proved a useful tool in monitoring children with attention deficit disorder (ADD). Aim. To assess brain information processing by the N200 and P300 in touch modality in children with ADD. Subjects and methods. The P300 and N200 components to oddball tactile stimulation paradigm were recorded in an experimental group of 17 children with ADD at the beginning and the end of the daily training tactile stimulation, another 12 children with ADD and 21 control children without ADD who no received tactile stimulation. Three groups aged between 7 and 11 years. Results. Results show a significant decrease in latency of N200 and P300 waves in the experimental group at the study end. N200 significant differences in the experimental group temporal parietal and occipital areas were found, while the differences in the P300 are located in postcentral and parietal areas. Conclusion. Systematic, orderly and organized tactile stimulation in children with ADD can be effective to improve N200- P300 latencies providing greater parietal brain plasticity, associated to perceptive attention (AU)

Emisiones biogénicas de monoterpenos en el parque nacional natural Tayrona, santa marta (Colombia) / Monoterpenes ioggenic emissions in the tayrona natural park, santa marta (Colombia)

Los monoterpenos y otros compuestos orgánicos volátiles emitidos por la vegetación (emisiones biogénicas) juegan un papel significativo en la química troposférica por su participación en la formación de oxidantes fotoquímicos (p.e. ozono troposférico). Es así como la estimación de emisiones biogénicas resulta útil para establecer valores aproximados de la concentración, fundamental en la elaboración de programas de mejoramiento de calidad del aire. El objetivo del trabajo consistió en estimar las emisiones biogénicas de monoterpenos en el Parque Nacional Natural Tayrona, seleccionado por contar con áreas de vegetación autóctona de la región tropical con escasa o nula intervención antropogénica. Se aplicaron sensores remotos para la clasificación de cobertura vegetal, obteniendo la distribución espacial de la vegetación típica e identificando las familias de mayor dominancia. Las emisiones de monoterpenos se calcularon en 3,54 x 10(4) kg d-1, representadas 60% por la familia Leguminosae, 37,4% por la familia Euphorbiaceae, 2,4% por la familia Anacardiaceae y menos de 1% por las familias Rubiaceae y Polygonaceae. Durante las horas de sol en el área del parque (de las 6 a las 18 horas) se registraron las mayores temperaturas diarias y las más altas tasas de emisión de monoterpenos (59,6%); la cuarta parte de las emisiones ocurren entre las 10 y las 15 horas (24,2%), periodo en el que la radiación solar presenta máximos diarios y establece condiciones críticas para la formación de oxidantes fotoquímicos. La influencia de los vientos en la distribución espacio-temporal de las emisiones en el ambiente y la información de la rosa de vientos, evidencia que el 26% de las masas de aire proceden del N y el 15% del NE en el último trimestre del año, situación que podría favorecer la dispersión de monoterpenos a centros urbanos próximos al parque natural, pudiendo alterar la química atmosférica local con la formación de oxidantes fotoquímicos.

Monoterpenes and other volatile organic compounds emitted by vegetation (biogenic emissions) play a significant role in tropospheric chemistry because of their participation in the formation of photochemical oxidants (i.e. troposfheric ozone). This is how the estimation of biogenic emissions is useful for determining approximate values of monoterpenes concentration, which is essential in developing programs to improve air quality. The aim of this work was to estimate biogenic emissions of monoterpenes in the Tayrona National Park, that was selected because of the presence of native vegetation of the tropics with little or no human interference. Remote sensing was applied for classification of vegetation, coverage obtaining the spatial distribution of the typical vegetation and identifying the most dominant families. Monoterpenes emissions were estimated at 3.54 x 104 kg d-1, represented 60% of the Leguminosae family, 37.4% of the Euphorbiaceae family, 2.4% of the Anacardiaceae family and less than 1% of Rubiaceae and Polygonaceae families. During daylight hours in the park area (from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.) the highest daily temperatures were registered and the highest emission rates of monoterpenes (59.6%); one fourth of the emissions occur between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (24.2%), period in which solar radiation presents daily maximums and establishes critical conditions for the formation of photochemical oxidants. The influence of winds on the spatial-temporal distribution of emissions shows that 26% of the air mass come from the N and 15% of NE in the last quarter of year, a situation that could favor the spread of monoterpenes to urban centers near the natural park, which could alter the local atmospheric chemistry with the formation of photochemical oxidants.

[Neurofunctional differences in the P300 frequency for multi-sensory stimulation in kids with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]. / Diferencias neurofuncionales de la onda P300 ante estimulación multisensorial en niños con trastorno por déficit de atención/hiperactividad.

INTRODUCTION: Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by inattention, motor hyperactivity, impulsivity, or a combination of all. The P300 is a non-invasive neurophysiological that has shown its effectiveness to detect differences between subjects with ADHD but results are not yet conclusive. AIM: To assess brain information processing by the P300 component, auditory, visual and tactile modality in children with ADHD. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The P300 components auditory, visual and tactile 17 children with ADHD (11 combined and 7 in-attentive) and 15 control children aged between 7 and 10 years were recorded. RESULTS: In response reaction times found a more pronounced trend in the auditory and visual time but not statistically significant in any of the three responses. In the error rate increased in children with ADHD compared to the control group. Children with ADHD have a significant increase in latency of visual P300 wave while there is no significant decrease in tactile and auditory P300. We found increased cortical areas in the P300 component in children with ADHD during visual and auditory test, but not touch. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the hypothesis of the existence of increased brain areas during auditory and visual sensory processing in ADHD group, except for tactile stimulation happens otherwise.

TITLE: Diferencias neurofuncionales de la onda P300 ante estimulacion multisensorial en niños con trastorno por deficit de atencion/hiperactividad.Introduccion. El trastorno por deficit de atencion/hiperactividad (TDAH) se caracteriza por falta de atencion, hiperactividad motora, impulsividad o una combinacion de todas. La P300 es una prueba neurofisiologica no invasiva que ha mostrado su eficacia para detectar diferencias entre sujetos con TDAH, pero los resultados todavia no son concluyentes. Objetivo. Evaluar el procesamiento cerebral de la informacion mediante el componente P300, en modalidad auditiva, visual y tactil, en ninos con TDAH. Sujetos y metodos. Se registraron los componentes P300 auditivo, visual y tactil a 17 ninos con TDAH (10 combinados y siete inatentos) y a 15 ninos control de edades comprendidas entre 7 y 10 anos de ambos sexos. Resultados. En los tiempos de reaccion de respuesta, se hallo una tendencia mas acentuada en el tiempo auditivo y visual, pero no estadisticamente significativo en ninguna de las tres respuestas; en el porcentaje de errores, un incremento en los ninos con TDAH respecto al grupo control. Los ninos con TDAH presentaban un aumento significativo de la latencia de la onda P300 visual, mientras que existia una disminucion no significativa en la P300 tactil y auditiva. Se encontro un aumento de las areas corticales en el componente P300 en los ninos con TDAH durante la prueba visual y auditiva, pero no en la tactil. Conclusiones. Los resultados apoyan la hipotesis de la existencia de aumento de areas cerebrales funcionales durante el procesamiento sensorial auditivo y visual en el grupo con TDAH, excepto durante la estimulacion tactil, en que sucede lo contrario.