Accuracy and validity of common dental terms using chat GPT model: a cross-sectional study

Background: Chat generative pre-trained transformer, an artificial intelligence chatbot can generate text-based content for information purpose. This study aims to find the accuracy and reliability of the chat GPT generated definitions for 30 common dental terms. Methods: A 15 current dental teaching staffs grading from Professors and Readers of various specialities participated in this study. They graded the chat GPT generated terms on a 5-point Likert scale (1- Strongly disagree, 2- Disagree, 3- Neutral, 4- Agree, 5- Strongly disagree). Scores were obtained and descriptive statistics was done and compared using Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Among 30 dental terms, 13 terms which were generated from the chat GPT model were found to be more appropriate when compared to text book definition. On comparison of reviewers’ perceptions for accuracy of definitions generated from chat GPT compared with text book definitions in which among the 30 dental terms, 9 terms were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05*). Conclusions: Chat GPT is a potential tool for answering knowledge based questions with equal vigor in the field of dentistry. Moreover, the accuracy of Chat GPT to solve questions in dentistry has a relational level of accuracy.

Cronología / Chronology

Esta cronología es una idea del psicoanalista e investigador francés Théo Lucciardi y fue publicada originalmente en el número 3 de la revista LAPSUS NUMÉRIQUE. Su autor ha preparado esta versión actualizada a 2023 especialmente para este número de Aesthethica. La secuencia, que va desde la invención de la rueda hasta la IA generativa, permite detenernos en los grandes hitos del desarrollo científico tecnológico y a la vez advertir ve el grado de aceleración de la última década. Se pueden reconocer allí varios de los temas que integran la agenda contemporánea en materia de bioética y que están presentes en este número de la revista. Algunos de ellos son cruciales para la lectura ético-analítica que proponemos, como la vigencia de la lógica booleana, la actualización del Test de Turing o el porvenir de la IA y el Chat GPT

This chronology is an initiative of the French psychoanalyst and researcher Théo Lucciardi and was originally published in number 3 of the LAPSUS NUMÉRIQUE magazine. Its author has prepared this updated version to 2023 especially for this issue of Aesthethica. The sequence, which goes from the invention of the wheel to generative AI, allows us to stop at the great milestones of technological scientific development and at the same time notice the degree of acceleration of the last decade. Several of the issues that make up the contemporary agenda in bioethics and that are present in this issue of the magazine can be recognized there. Some of them are crucial for the ethical-analytical reading that we propose, such as the validity of Boolean logic, the updating of the Turing Test or the future of AI and Chat GPT

Chat GPT: origen, evolución, retos e impactos en la educación / Chat GPT: Origen, Evolution, Challenges and Impacts on Education

Introducción: Los avances de unas tecnologías y la obsolescencia de otras marchan a una velocidad inimaginable, especialmente en este siglo xxi. En los últimos meses de 2022 y primeros meses de 2023 muchas incógnitas y controversias en diferentes campos han surgido en torno a los Chat GPS, una innovación que presenta desafíos nunca pensados para la sociedad actual, así como nuevos retos que impactarán de manera directa en la formación y/o desempeño de profesores, estudiantes, profesionales de la salud, juristas, políticos, informáticos, bibliotecarios, científicos y cualquier ciudadano. Objetivo: Identificar algunas características del chat GPT y su posible impacto en el educación. Posicionamiento de los autores: Se leen en las noticias y reportajes valoraciones de especialistas; se han realizado encuentros virtuales y exposiciones; y están disponibles diversos artículos y videos sobre este tema, algunos llegan a ser elaborados con el propio asistente. Por la novedad del tema, la reciente incorporación como herramienta para el desarrollo profesional, así como por el interés mostrado en los últimos días por la comunidad de profesores de las ciencias médicas cubanas, y considerando que esta herramienta es resultado del desarrollo de la inteligencia artificial, cabe preguntarse: ¿en qué consiste? y ¿cuáles son sus perspectivas? Conclusiones: Resulta oportuno acercarse al tema desde las posibilidades y los retos que abre a la educación y el aprendizaje, en particular a la docencia médica(AU)

Introduction: The advances of some technologies and the obsolescence of others are marching at an unimaginable speed, especially in this twenty-first century. In the last months of 2022 and first months of 2023, many questions and controversies in different fields have arisen with respect to Chat GPT, an innovation that presents challenges never thought of before for today's society, as well as new challenges that will have a direct impact on the training and/or performance of professors, students, health professionals, law practitioners, politicians, computer scientists, librarians, scientists and any citizen. Objective: To identify some technological characteristics of Chat GPT. Positioning of the authors: In news and reports, assessments by specialists are read; virtual meetings and presentations have been held; and several articles and videos on this topic are available, some of them even elaborated by the assistant itself. Due to the novelty of the subject, its recent assimilation as a tool for professional development, as well as the interest shown in recent days by the community of professors of Cuban medical sciences and considering that this tool is the result of the development of artificial intelligence, it is worth wondering what it consists in and what its prospects are. Conclusions: It is appropriate to approach the subject with a focus on the possibilities and challenges that it opens to education and learning (AU)

The Role of Third Parties in Cyber Conflicts: The SIMA Simulator / El Papel de los Terceros en los Conflictos Cibernéticos: el Simulador SIMA

Abstract New media creates opportunities to directly measure how adolescents respond to aggressive situations. In this study, we report on SIMA, a simulator of digital chats, created to mimic online aggressive interactions within a conflict situation. Adolescents were invited to be part of a digital chat where all interactions were pre-programmed, except for the participants' interventions, to discuss controversial topics (e.g., animal maltreatment). Two chat members engaged in a conflict programmed to escalate quickly through aggressive insults. Sixth and seventh-grade students (mostly aged 12 to 14; n = 287) from one public school (low SES) and one private school (high SES) participated in the study. Responses to open questions after finishing the chat suggest that the great majority considered that they were taking part in a real online interaction. Aggressive offenses towards other members of the chat were very common. SIMA opens many options for further research about bystander behavior in aggressive online interactions.

Resumen Los nuevos medios de comunicación han creado oportunidades para medir directamente cómo los adolescentes responden a situaciones de agresión. Presentamos a SIMA, un simulador de chats digitales creado para imitar interacciones agresivas en línea en una situación de conflicto. Los adolescentes son invitados a ser parte de un chat digital para discutir temas controversiales (p. ej., maltrato animal). En realidad, las interacciones están todas preprogramadas a excepción de las intervenciones de quienes participan. Dos supuestos miembros del chat tienen un conflicto programado para escalar de forma rápida con insultos agresivos. Participaron estudiantes de sexto y séptimo grado (principalmente de 12 a 14 años; n = 287) de un colegio público (NSE bajo) y uno privado (NSE alto). Las respuestas a preguntas abiertas sugieren que la gran mayoría consideró que estaban participando en una interacción en línea real. Las ofensas agresivas hacia otros miembros del chat fueron muy comunes. SIMA abre muchas opciones para futuras investigaciones sobre el comportamiento de espectadores en interacciones agresivas en línea.

Prevalence of internet addiction in south Indian chat rooms

Background: There are various reasons for internet addiction. In the recent covid and post covid era people have taken up chatting as a pastime. Many spend time chatting with strangers for various reasons. This study was conducted to see the prevalence of internet addiction in south Indian chat rooms and the reasons leading to it Methods: After doing a pilot study, many chat room users were administered an online questionnaire. Of the 1763 people approached only 700 of them agreed to participate in this study Results: Of the seven hundred participants, two hundred and sixteen suffered from internet addiction. Of those with Internet addiction, 85% of the chat room users agreed that they drink alcohol when they chat,63.9% cited individual factors as a reason,62% of the chat room users said they visit chat rooms to game with their friends,31% stated cyber relation addiction as a cause,7.4% said lack of a steady job made them get online and chat and 2.3% of the chat users said they frequented chat sites for want of cyber sex Conclusions: People should understand that it’s a virtual world and not real. They should start stepping out and decrease spending time online. Chat rooms should be on a strict vigilance and steps should be taken to screen the chat room users.

Smart Phone Chat Apps for Teaching and Assessment in Orthopaedic Residency Training

@#Introduction: Smart Phone Chat Apps (SPCA) is an integral part of people’s daily routine including orthopaedic education. SPCA facilitates efficient communication and learner-based management especially now as remote flexible learning is becoming the new norm in this COVID-19 pandemic medical training. The study described the use of a chat app (Viber) as experienced by residents and consultants in the Section of Adult Orthopaedics of the institution of the principal author. It described the mode and dynamics of the chat discussion amongst its participants, its perceived usefulness in teaching and learning specifically its relevance and applicability, its potential as a supplementary assessment tool, as well as its perceived effects. Materials and methods: This is a phenomenological study and strictly adhered to data privacy. The principal author conducted a participant observation of residents’ threemonth clinical rotation at the study site. Mobile phone screenshots of the chat interactions and focus group discussions with consultants and residents were done. Residents were also requested to complete a questionnaire. All qualitative data were iteratively content analysed and emerging themes were summarised using NViVO-12. Frequencies and percentage distribution were used to analyse quantitative data. Results: Respondents included eleven senior, four junior residents, and nine consultants. Results show that SPCA is a useful, applicable, and relevant teaching and assessment tool. Influxes of multiple ideas per case were discussed realtime as the chat exchanges and interactions helped in the planning of the surgical management and eventual decisionmaking. SPCA also served as an effective surgical case log and online library, as well as an efficient, rapid, economical mode of information dissemination. The residents reported that it helped in developing their emotional maturity through self-reflection and self-criticism in the performance of their cases. The consultants concurred and added that they too were updated professionally in certain fields in orthopaedics. Conclusion: The SPCA is a helpful, relevant, and acceptable adjunct teaching and learning tool for clinical teaching and can be, to a certain extent, a supplementary formative assessment tool of the resident’s communication skills, work ethics, initiative, and diligence.

Evaluación de la Calidad de los Agentes Conversacionales para la Creación de Instrumentos de Evaluación en Medición de Señales Bioeléctricas / Evaluation of the Quality of Conversational Agents for the Creation of Evaluation Instruments in Bioelectric Signals Measurement

Resumen El objetivo de esta investigación es evaluar la calidad de agentes conversacionales basados en Modelos de Lenguaje Grandes, para la evaluación de aplicación de conocimiento en Ingeniería Biomédica. Se desarrolló un instrumento de evaluación sobre seis temas de medición de señales bioeléctricas elaborado por un agente humano y los agentes conversacionales Chat-GPT y Bard. Se evaluó la calidad del instrumento en términos de nivel de pensamiento, validez, relevancia, claridad, dificultad y capacidad de discriminación, mediante índice kappa (k) del acuerdo de dos expertos y análisis Rasch de resultados de treinta y ocho estudiantes. Tras eliminar siete preguntas de los agentes conversacionales por problemas de validez y originalidad se integró un instrumento de seis preguntas. Las preguntas fueron válidas y relevantes, claras (>0.95, k=1.0), con dificultad baja a alta (0.61-0.87, k=0.83), índice de discriminación adecuado (0.11-0.47), a nivel de pensamiento de análisis (k=0.22). El promedio de los estudiantes fue de 7.24±2.40. Este es el primer análisis crítico de la calidad de los agentes conversacionales a un nivel de pensamiento superior al de comprensión. Los agentes conversacionales presentaron limitaciones en términos de validez, originalidad, dificultad y discriminación en comparación con el experto humano lo que resalta la necesidad aún de su supervisión.

Abstract This research aims to evaluate the quality of conversational agents based on Large Language Models for evaluating the application of knowledge in Biomedical Engineering. An evaluation instrument was developed on six topics for measuring bioelectrical signals prepared by a human agent and the conversational agents Chat-GPT and Bard. The quality of the instrument was evaluated in terms of level of thinking, validity, relevance, clarity, difficulty, and discrimination capacity, using the kappa (k) index of the agreement of two experts and Rasch analysis of results from thirty-eight students. After eliminating seven questions from the conversational agents due to validity and originality problems, a 6-question instrument was integrated. The questions were valid and relevant, clear (>0.95, k=1.0), with low to high difficulty (0.61-0.87, k=0.83), adequate discrimination index (0.11-0.47), at the analysis level of thinking (k =0.22). The average score of the students was 7.24±2.40. This is the first critical analysis of the quality of conversational agents at a level of thinking higher than comprehension. The conversational agents presented limitations in terms of validity, originality, difficulty, and discrimination compared to the human expert, which highlights the need for their supervision.

Estudio de caso de narrativas infantiles en videollamadas: Aportes al análisis de interacciones mediadas por tecnología / Case study of children's narratives in videochats: contributions to the analysis of technology-mediated interactions

Resumen El aislamiento social preventivo y obligatorio por la pandemia del SARS-CoV-2 condujo a las familias a buscar alternativas para mantener el vínculo con sus parientes no convivientes. Una de ellas fue la videollamada, cuyo carácter audiovisual habilita nuevas maneras de comunicación (Ames et al., 2010; Ballagas et al., 2009; McClure y Barr, 2017) que podrían modificar las interacciones en las que adultos/as y niños/as participan y colaboran en la construcción de distintos tipos de discursos. La narración constituye una de las primeras y más relevantes formas de discurso en la infancia que permite reconstruir y comunicar la propia experiencia. En este trabajo se realizó un análisis de caso de 31 narrativas que tuvieron lugar en cinco videollamadas en las que participaban una misma niña residente de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires y sus familiares, pertenecientes al corpus "Contextos naturales de interacción en los hogares en los que los/as niños/as usan tempranamente tecnología"[1], a fin de caracterizar las interacciones que contribuyen a la configuración de las narrativas infantiles en contextos mediados por tecnología. Los resultados mostraron una mayor presencia de narrativas personales y de futuro, frente a pocas de ficción; mientras que estas últimas fueron en su totalidad autorreguladas, la cantidad de narrativas hetero y autorreguladas fue similar para los otros dos tipos de narrativas. Se identificaron distintas estrategias a las que, en el marco de videollamadas, la niña recurrió para participar en la construcción de narrativas.

Abstract The preventive and compulsory social isolation established in Argentina due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led families to look for alternatives to maintain the bond and communicate with their non-cohabitant relatives. One of these alternatives was the use of videochat. Videochat enables new ways of audiovisual communication (Ames et al., 2010; Ballagas et al., 2009; McClure & Barr, 2017) that could affect the interactions in which adults and children collaborate in the construction of different types of discourses. Narratives are one of the first and most relevant forms of discourse, it allows for the reconstruction and communication of one's experience and is one of the ways in which thought is configured. In this work, a case study was conducted of the narratives produced during videochat conversations of a four-year-old girl with non-cohabiting relatives. The aim was to characterize the interactions that help in the configuration of children's narratives during technology-mediated situations. The research question were: (a) how do technology-mediated interactions allow the child to narrate about past and future events and to create fictional narratives?; (b) how does the child participate in the construction of those narrative in the context of these technology-mediated situations? Five videos of videochat interaction belonging to a single four year old girl were selected from the corpus "Contextos naturales de interacción en los hogares en los que los/as niños/as usan tempranamente tecnología". This corpus gathers different technology-mediated interactions collected during daily activities in the home of children aged 0 to 6 years. First, 31 narratives in which the girl participated were identified. Subsequently, used the constant comparative method was used (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) as well as analysis tools developed within the framework of interactive sociolinguistics (Gumperz, 1982, 1984); also, concepts developed in previous research (Arrúe et al., 2014; Labov, 1972; Rosemberg et al., 2010; Stein et al., 2020) were heuristically recovered to answer the research questions. Of the 31 narratives produced in the interactions, 14 were related to personal experience, 13 were of future events, and 4 were fiction narratives. Regarding the posed questions, results showed that children do in fact create personal, future and fictional narratives in technology-mediated interactions with adults. Technology also enables children to decide how much they want to participate in interactions: they can lead the narrative, or they can back off to a yes-or-no answer kind of participation. The child relies on the possibility to share visual information, beyond audio, to provide both events and context information. This interactive and multimodal aspect of videochats was also found to enable the girl to turn to present adults both to scaffold her narrative production and to resolve doubts about unknown words. Even though there are methodological limitations to this study, this first approach to narratives in technology-mediated interactions shows the richness that this type of interaction can have for the development of children's language.

Study on the Benefit of Postoperative Exercise Rehabilitation in Patients with Lung Cancer Complicated with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease / 中国肺癌杂志

BACKGROUND@#Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) affects 45%-63% of lung cancer patients worldwide. Lung cancer patients complicated with COPD have decreased cardiopulmonary function and increased perioperative risk, and their postoperative exercise endurance and lung function are significantly lower than those with conventional lung cancer. Previous studies have shown that postoperative exercise training can improve the exercise endurance of unselected lung cancer patients, but it is unclear whether lung cancer patients with COPD can also benefit from postoperative exercise training. This study intends to explore the effects of postoperative exercise training on exercise endurance, daily activity and lung function of lung cancer patients with COPD.@*METHODS@#Seventy-four patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) complicated with COPD who underwent pneumonectomy in the lung cancer center of West China Hospital of Sichuan University from August 5, 2020 to August 25, 2021 were prospectively analyzed. They were randomly divided into exercise group and control group; The patients in the two groups received routine postoperative rehabilitation in the first week after operation, and the control group was given routine nursing from the second week. On this basis, the exercise group received postoperative exercise rehabilitation training for two weeks. Baseline evaluation was performed 3 days before operation and endpoint evaluation was performed 3 weeks after operation.@*RESULTS@#The exercise endurance, daily activity and pulmonary function test results of the two groups decreased from baseline to the end point. However, after the operation and intervention program, the maximum oxygen consumption of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test and the walking distance of 6-Minute Walking Test in the exercise group were significantly better than those in the control group [(13.09±1.46) mL/kg/min vs (11.89±1.38) mL/kg/min, P=0.033; (297±46) m vs (243±43) m, P=0.041]. The average number of we-chat steps in the exercise group was also significantly better than that in the control group (4,381±397 vs 3,478±342, P=0.035). Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in the exercise group were better than those in the control group, but the difference did not reach a statistically significant level [(1.76±0.19) L vs (1.60±0.28) L, P=0.084; (1.01±0.17) L vs (0.96±0.21) L, P=0.467].@*CONCLUSIONS@#Postoperative exercise rehabilitation training can improve exercise endurance and daily activity ability of patients with lung cancer complicated with COPD and promote postoperative rehabilitation.

Prenatal diagnosis of Cri-du-chat syndrome: analysis of 11 cases / 中华围产医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the ultrasonographic and genetic features of Cri-du-chat syndrome (CDCS).Methods:In this retrospective study, cases with CDCS diagnosed in Wuxi Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital from 2004 to 2021 and with complete data were reviewed to describe and analyze the maternal serum prenatal screening, non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), ultrasound, genetic examination data, and pregnancy outcomes.Results:All cases were diagnosed by karyotype analysis, seven of them were diagnosed prenatally through amniotic fluid, and four were diagnosed after birth through peripheral blood. Five of the seven cases diagnosed prenatally had an abnormal serological screening, including two cases with 5p- indicated by NIPT. Of the 11 cases, prenatal ultrasonography showed cerebellar transverse diameter less than －2 SD in eight cases, including four with cerebellar hypoplasia (CH), two with fetal growth restriction, and two with cranial diameters less than －2 SD. One case was shown with an increased nuchal translucency, accompanying bilateral choroid plexus cysts of the lateral ventricles, and suspected persistent left superior vena cava. No obvious ultrasound abnormality was observed in the remaining two cases. Among the seven cases diagnosed prenatally, excluding one case that refused parental verification, further single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP array) showed that all six cases inherited the de novo mutations from the parents. The cytogenetic analysis found the breakpoints at 5p13, 5p14, and 5p15 in five, three, and three cases. All seven pregnancies were terminated in the second trimester. Four children diagnosed postnatally presented with CDCS phenotype during the follow-up at three years old. Conclusions:Fetal CDCS should be considered with CH detected by prenatal ultrasonography, though the correlation between CH and CDCS still needs further investigation. Gene mapping with an SNP array is helpful for phenotypic profiling and genetic counseling.

Improvement in colonic inflammatory injury in rats via activating dorsal cholinergic neurons of vagus with electroacupuncture at sensitized acupoints / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To observe the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) at sensitized acupoints on choline acetyltransferase positive (ChAT@*METHODS@#A total of 79 male SD rats were randomized into five groups, i.e. a normal group (20 rats), a normal plus sensitized acupoint group (5 rats), a model group (34 rats), an EA@*RESULTS@#The EB extravasating areas were distributed in the segments from T@*CONCLUSION@#The segmental dominance (acupoints) from T

Development and implementation of a brief chat-based intervention to support mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic / Desenvolvimento e implementação de uma intervenção breve via chat para suporte em saúde mental durante a pandemia da COVID-19 / Desarrollo e implementación de una intervención breve vía chat para dar apoyo en salud mental durante la pandemia de COVID-19

This paper presents the development and implementation of a brief chat-based intervention for mental health support toward people suffering from the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil and Argentina. During the development phase, we proposed a protocol that comprised: 1) screening and needs assessment; 2) health education based on active listening techniques; and 3) referral to available materials and crisis services available (e.g., crisis intervention hotlines). In the implementation phase, we recruited and trained 77 volunteers who provide healthcare chat support for users under the supervision of 20 psychologists. In less than two months, we performed 1.107 sessions. We expect that the healthcare chat support might be a valuable resource during the COVID-19 pandemic, although further studies to assess its feasibility and effectiveness are needed.

Este artigo apresenta o desenvolvimento e a implementação de uma intervenção breve via chat para suporte em saúde mental voltada para pessoas em sofrimento decorrente do contexto da pandemia de COVID-19, no Brasil e na Argentina. Durante a fase de desenvolvimento, foi proposto um protocolo que inclui: 1) triagem e avaliação de necessidades; 2) educação em saúde com base em técnicas de escuta ativa e 3) encaminhamento de materiais e contatos de serviços especializados ou de urgência disponíveis (ex. linhas diretas de intervenção em crise). Na fase de implementação, foram recrutados e treinados 77 voluntários que oferecem acolhimento em saúde via chat aos usuários sob a supervisão de 20 psicólogos. Em menos de 2 meses, 1.107 intervenções foram realizadas. Espera-se que a intervenção via chat possa ser um recurso valioso durante a pandemia de COVID-19, embora estudos adicionais sejam necessários para avaliar sua viabilidade e sua efetividade.

Este artículo presenta el desarrollo e implementación de una intervención breve vía chat para dar apoyo en salud mental destinado a personas que presentan sufrimientos debido al contexto de la pandemia de COVID-19, en Brasil y Argentina. Durante la fase del desarrollo fue propuesto un protocolo que incluye: 1) detección y evaluación de necesidades; 2) educación para la salud basada en técnicas de escucha activa y 3) derivación de materiales y contactos de servicios especializados o de emergencia disponibles (ej. líneas directas de intervención en crisis). En la fase de implementación, fueron reclutados y capacitados 77 voluntarios que ofrecen contención en salud vía chat a los usuarios bajo la supervisión de 20 psicólogos. En menos de 2 meses se realizaron 1.107 intervenciones. Se espera que la intervención vía chat pueda ser un recurso valioso durante la pandemia de COVID-19, aunque se necesitan estudios adicionales para evaluar su viabilidad y efectividad.

A síndrome de Cri Du Chat em adolescentes / The Cri du Chat syndrome in adolescents

Introdução: A síndrome do miado do gato ou síndrome 5p é uma doença congênita rara causada por uma anormalidade cromossômica. Relato do caso: Apresentamos o caso de uma paciente de 13 anos com características dismórficas leves. O retardo mental era grave, com comportamento mal adaptativo e hiperatividade. O diagnóstico citogenético da anormalidade cromossômica 46 XX del 5pter-->p13 foi estabelecido. Conclusão: O diagnóstico precoce dessa doença é necessário para a qualidade de vida dos pacientes, mas esse diagnóstico é difícil de ser realizado em pacientes que foram vistos, pela primeira vez, em idade mais avançada.

Introduction: Cat cry syndrome or 5p- syndrome is a rare congenital disease caused by a chromosomal abnormality. Case report: The case of a thirteen-year-old female patient with mild dysmorphic features is presented. Mental retardation is severe, with maladaptive behavior and hyperactivity. The cytogenetic diagnosis of chromosomal abnormality karyotype 46 XX del 5pterp13 has been established. Conclusions: We concluded that early diagnosis of this disease is necessary for patients' quality of life, but this diagnosis is difficult to make in patients who were first seen at an older age.

Effect of Ultrafine Powder of Gastrodiae Rhizoma in Improving Learning and Memory Ability of Vascular Dementia Rats by Regulating Cholinergic System / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To investigate whether ultrafine powder of Gastrodiae Rhizoma （UPG） can alleviate the learning and memory impairment of vascular dementia rats and delay the process of VD， and whether this effect is related to the release of acetylcholine （Ach） through the regulation with acetylcholinesterase （AChE） and choline acetyltransferase （ChAT） and control of cholinergic system. Method:SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group， UPG low dose group （0.45 g·kg-1）， UPG high dose group （1.8 g·kg-1） and Huperzine A group （80 μg·kg-1）， with 12 rats in each group. The drug administration groups were given orally drugs once a day for 8 weeks， and sham group and model group were given orally the same amount of distilled water. The learning and memory ability of the rats with VD were evaluated by the Morris water maze. Htoxylin eosin（HE） staining was used for pathomorphological observation of hippocampus CA1 area of the rats. The content of Ach was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）， AChE and ChAT protein expressions were detected by Western blot， and expression of ChAT in hippocampus CA1 area was observed by immunohistochemistry. Result:Compared with the sham operation group， the escape latency of the model group was significantly increased （P<0.01）， and the frequency of crossings platform and the time of staying in the target quadrant were reduced significantly （P<0.01）. HE staining of hippocampal tissues from VD rat showed neuron disorders， loss and degeneration and necrosis， pyknosis of the nucleus and light coloration of the cytoplasm. The level of acetylcholine in the hippocampus was significantly decreased by ELISA （P<0.05）， the expression level of AChE protein was significantly up-regulated， and the expression level of ChAT protein was significantly down-regulated （P<0.01）. Compared with model group， each administration group could significantly reduce the escape latency of the model rats， and significantly increase the frequency of crossing platform and the time of staying in the target quadrant （P<0.01）， the content of Ach was significantly increased （P<0.05）， the expression of AChE protein was significantly down-regulated （P<0.01）， while the expression of ChAT protein was significantly up-regulated （P<0.01）. Conclusion:UPG improves the learning and memory ability of vascular dementia rats， and its mechanism may be related to the increase of Ach， ChAT level and the decrease of AChE level.

Síndrome de Cri du chat: primer reporte en mosaico en el suroccidente colombiano / Cri du chat syndrome: first report of mosaicism in the colombian southwest

El síndrome de Cri du chat es una alteración cromosómica causada por deleciones en el brazo corto de cromosoma 5, las cuales varían en tamaño, desde muy pequeñas que comprometen solo el locus 5p15.2, hasta la pérdida de todo el brazo corto. Las mutaciones se originan de novo en el 80% a 90% de los casos. Existen dos regiones críticas para el síndrome de Cri du chat; una ubicada en 5p15.3, cuya deleción se manifiesta con el llanto de maullido de gato y retraso en el habla, y otra ubicada en 5p15.2, cuya deleción se manifiesta como microcefalia, hipertelorismo, retraso psicomotor y mental severo. Se han descrito varios genes implicados localizados en estas regiones críticas; entre ellos, TERT, SEMA5A, CTNND2 y MARCHF6, cuya haploinsuficiencia se asocia con los diferentes fenotipos del Cri du chat. En este artículo se describe el caso clínico de una paciente femenina de 8 meses de vida, con características clínicas y un análisis citogenético en mosaico que confirmaron el síndrome de Cri du chat. Este caso es el primero reportado de esta variante en el suroccidente colombiano.

Cri du chat syndrome is a chromosomal disorder caused by deletions in the short arm of chromosome 5, which vary in size, from very small and involving only the 5p15.2 locus, to the loss of the entire short arm. Mutations originate de novo in 80% to 90% of cases. There are two critical regions for Cri du chat syndrome; one located at 5p15.3 with a deletion that is manifested as a cat's cry and speech delay, and another located at 5p15.2 with a deletion that manifests as microcephaly, hypertelorism, severe psychomotor and mental retardation. Several involved genes located in these critical regions have been described; among them, TERT, SEMA5A, CTNND2 and MARCHF6, and whose haploinsufficiency is associated with the different phenotypes of Cri du chat. This article describes the clinical case of an 8-monthold female patient, with clinical characteristics and a mosaic cytogenetic analysis that confirmed Cri du chat syndrome. This case is the first reported of this variant in southwestern Colombia.

Effects of cluster needling at the scalp points on the expression of ChAT and AchE of hippocampus in rats with Alzheimer's disease / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the effects of cluster needling at the scalp points on the expression of choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) and choline cholinesterase (AchE).@*METHODS@#A total of 60 Wistar rats were randomized into a sham-operation group, a model group, a medication group and a cluster needling group, 15 rats in each one. In the model group, the medication group and the cluster needling group, the models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) were established by the orienteering injection with Aβ1-42 in the bilateral hippocampal CA1 in the rats. In the sham-operation group, the distilled water was injected in bilateral hippocampus of rats. In the medication group, the lavage with aricept was adopted for the basic treatment, once a day, for 4 weeks consecutively. In the cluster needling group, on the base of the treatment as the medication group, the cluster needling at the scalp points was adopted, once a day, 6 times a week, for 4 weeks totally. In the sham-operation group and the model group, the normal feeding was provided. After intervention, the learning and memory ability was measured with Morris water maze in the rats of each group. The changes in the hippocampal gross structure were observed with HE staining. The changes in the positive expressions of hippocampal ChAT and AchE were determined with the immunohistochemical method.@*RESULTS@#Compared with the sham-operation group, the escape latency was prolonged and the percentage of the second quadrant and the frequency of platform leaping were reduced in the rats of the model group (all 0.05) and the expression of AchE was reduced (<0.05) in the medication group; the expression of ChAT was increased (<0.05) and that of AchE decreased (<0.01) in the cluster needling group. Compared with the medication group, the expression of ChAT was increased and that of AchE decreased in the cluster needling group (both <0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#The effect mechanism of cluster needling at the scalp points on AD could be related to the up-regulation of ChAT expression and down-regulation of AchE expression in the hippocampus. The combined treatment with the cluster needling and aricept achieves the better therapeutic effect on AD.

Utilisation patterns of helpline and Web chat services among gamblers in Singapore

We evaluated the utilisation of a helpline and Web chat system by the public for gambling-related services in Singapore over a period of 12 months. The profile of callers, call characteristics and actions taken were descriptively analysed using aggregate data. The majority of helpline calls and Web chats were from gamblers aged 40-49 years (23.3%, n = 644). Gamblers made 85.4% (n = 8,010) of the calls to the helpline and 73.3% (n = 546) of the Web chats. About four-fifths of the gamblers were Chinese (79.5%, n = 6,381) and employed full time (79.9%, n = 4,125). Table games (67.6%, n = 2,605) were the most popular gambling activity reported by callers, 55.8% of which involved local casinos. Enquiries were mostly casino related (92.4%, n = 5,739). Approximately 1,827 calls were received per month during the study period and 185 referrals were made to the clinic, 80.5% of whom sought treatment.

Leontiev about Matter and Consciousness: His Critique of Vygotsky in the Soviet context / Leontiev sobre Matéria e Consciência: Sua Crítica a Vigotski nos Anos 1930s

Abstract Closing out a set of six articles, this text presents a descriptive analysis of Leontiev's career between 1936-7 in the context of the profound changes caused by the Decree against Pedology and subsequent public campaign against the Vygotskian legacy. This paper seeks to outline the meaning of this campaign within the sinister context of the Soviet Great Purge and place Leontiev's main critical text of Vygotsky in the context of the enforcement of a "pure and genuine" Marxism-Leninism on the sciences. We claim that Leontiev confused the ontological and epistemological problem of the relationship of consciousness to matter, reflecting the Stalinist divisions between them. When Leontiev moved away from Vygotsky's legacy, he pursued a dualist, objectivist, and mechanistic inflection of Vygotsky's psychological materialism.

Resumo Completando um ciclo de seis artigos, este texto apresenta análise descritiva da carreira de Leontiev entre 1936-7, no contexto das profundas transformações causadas pelo Decreto contra a Pedologia de 1936 e subsequente campanha pública contra o legado vigotskiano. Procura delinear o sentido dessa campanha na sinistra conjuntura dos Grandes Expurgos stalinistas e situar o principal texto de crítica de Leontiev a Vigotski. Trata de mudanças teóricas nas obras dos autores em relação com a imposição de um "puro e genuíno" marxismo-leninismo às ciências. Defendo que Leontiev confundiu o problema ontológico e epistemológico sobre a relação consciência-matéria, repercutindo as cisões stalinistas entre ambas. Ao afastar-se do legado de Vigotski, realizou uma inflexão dualista, objetivista e mecanicista no materialismo psicológico vigotskiano.

Pontine Hypoplasia and Cri-du-chat Syndrome in a Preterm Infant / 고신대학교의과대학학술지

A premature infant with gestational age 36⁺⁴ weeks was admitted with respiratory distress syndrome. Surfactant and ventilation were firstly done to improve his respiration. After extubation, weak, high-pitched cry and asymmetric face with micrognathia and hypertelorism were detected. Therefore, cytogenetic analysis was performed, and his karyotype was 46, XY, del(5) (p14p15.33). Pontine hypoplasia was detected on cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Therefore, karyotyping and cranial MRI should be performed in case of preterm infants with suspicion of Cri-du-chat syndrome (CdCS).

Cri-du-chat syndrome diagnosed in a 21-year-old woman by means of comparative genomic hybridization / Síndrome de cri du chat diagnosticado en mujer de 21 años por hibridación genómica comparativa

Abstract The cri-du-chat syndrome is caused by a deletion on the short arm of chromosome number 5. The size of genetic material loss varies from the 5p15.2 region only to the whole arm. Prevalence rates range between 1:15000 and 1:50000 live births. Diagnosis is suspected on infants with a high-pitched (cat-like) cry, facial dysmorfism, hypotonia and delayed psychomotor development. In adults, phenotypic findings are less specific. It is confirmed through high-resolution G-banding karyotype, fluorescent in situ hybridization or microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization (a-CGH). The following is the case report of a 21-year-old female patient with severe mental retardation and trichotillomania, who does not control sphincters and does not bathe or eat by herself. Her communication is based only on sounds and dysmorphic facies. The G-band karyotype reported is 46, XX. a-CGH shows 18.583Mb interstitial microdeletion in 5p15.33p14.3, including the cri-du-chat critical region. In children or adults with unexplained mental retardation and normal karyotype results (like this case), an a-CGH should be performed to make an etiological diagnosis, establish the prognosis, order additional medical tests and specific treatments, and offer appropriate genetic counseling.

Resumen El síndrome de cri du chat o del maullido de gato es causado por una deleción en el brazo corto del cromosoma 5; el tamaño de la pérdida de material genético varía desde solo la región 5p15.2 hasta el brazo entero. La prevalencia va desde 1 por 15 000 habitantes hasta 1 por 50 000 habitantes. Su diagnóstico se puede confirmar con cariotipo con bandas G de alta resolución, hibridación fluorescente in situ o hibridación genómica comparativa por microarreglos (HGCm); este se sospecha en infantes con un llanto similar al maullido de un gato, fascies dismórficas, hipotonía y retardo del desarrollo psicomotor; sin embargo, en los adultos afectados los hallazgos fenotípicos son menos específicos. Se presenta el caso de una mujer de 21 años con retardo mental severo y tricotilomanía, que no controla esfínteres y no se baña ni come sola; solo emite ruidos y tiene facies dismórficas. El cariotipo de bandas G es reportado 46, XX y la HGCm muestra microdeleción de 18.583Mb en 5p15.33p14.3, incluyendo región crítica de cri du chat. En pacientes de este tipo se debe realizar HGCm para hacer un diagnóstico etiológico, establecer un pronóstico, ordenar pruebas médicas adicionales y tratamientos específicos y realizar la adecuada asesoría genética.