Excitatory and inhibitory lateral interactions effects on contrast detection are modulated by tRNS.

Contrast sensitivity for a Gabor signal is affected by collinear high-contrast Gabor flankers. The flankers reduce (inhibitory effect) or increase (facilitatory effect) sensitivity, at short (2λ) and intermediate (6λ) target-to-flanker separation respectively. We investigated whether these inhibitory/facilitatory sensitivity effects are modulated by transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) applied to the occipital and frontal cortex of human observers during task performance. Signal detection theory was used to measure sensitivity (d') and the Criterion (C) in a contrast detection task, performed with sham or tRNS applied over the occipital or the frontal cortex. After occipital stimulation results show a tRNS-dependent increased sensitivity for the single Gabor signal of low but not high contrast. Moreover, results suggest a dissociation of the tRNS effect when the Gabor signal is presented with the flankers, consisting in a general increased sensitivity at 2λ where the flankers had an inhibitory effect (reduction of inhibition) and a decreased sensitivity at 6λ where the flankers had a facilitatory effect on the Gabor signal (reduction of facilitation). After a frontal stimulation, no specific effect of the tRNS was found. We account for these complex interactions between tRNS and flankers by assuming that tRNS not only enhances feedforward input from the Gabor signal to the cortex, but also enhances the excitatory or inhibitory lateral intracortical input from the flankers. The boosted lateral input depends on the excitation-inhibition (E/I) ratio, namely when the lateral input is weak, it is boosted by tRNS with consequent modification of the contrast-dependent E/I ratio.

Protective effect of quercetin against in vitro erythrocyte rheology alterations produced by arsenic.

Humans are exposed to heavy metals such as arsenic (As), through contaminated food and drinking water. The effect of As on RBC membrane is one of the most important biological effects. In a previous work, we have studied the AsVin vitro effect on erythrocytes biophysical properties discovering alterations regarding aggregability deformability, cell morphology, membrane fluidity and osmotic response. We have also observed that the presence of the metal produces an oxidative stress in RBCs that might be the origin of rheological impairment. In the present work we analyzed RBCs rheological properties associated with membrane fluidity and lipid peroxidation in presence of As and quercetin (Qc). From our results we can conclude that RBCs treatment with Qc is efficient to prevent the impairment of the mechanical properties of the cell membrane produced by the As, through oxygen reactive agents in the membrane structure, mainly on the lipids. This protective effect is observed in the preservation of the erythrocytes rheological properties and consequently in the maintenance of an appropriate blood flow, specially in the small vessels in the peripheral circulation.

Anaemia, iron and vitamin deficits in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

INTRODUCTION: Anaemia can compromise muscle and organ function. Related iron and vitamin body stores have seldom been assessed in patients with peripheral arterial disease. REPORT: We retrospectively analysed basal prevalence of anaemia, iron, B(12)-vitamin and folic acid deficits in 420 patients with claudication and 204 patients with critical limb ischaemia (CLI). The prevalence of the evaluated parameters was 9.8%, 6.7%, 6.7% and 2.9% among patients with claudication but 49.5%, 31.9%, 15.7% and 6.4% among CLI patients, respectively (p < 0.05 for all). DISCUSSION: Anaemia, iron and vitamin deficits are uncommon among patients with ischemic claudication but very prevalent among patients with CLI.

Psychophysical and electrophysiological evidence of independent facilitation by collinearity and similarity in texture grouping and segmentation.

Gestalt factors of collinearity and similarity facilitate two fundamental perceptual tasks: grouping elements into figures and segmentation of figures from the ground. We have used a global-local paradigm to examine the psychophysical and neural correlates of these processes in humans: observers discriminated between orientations of either a three-Gabor group (grouping), or of a central Gabor within the group (segmentation). Groups were centered on a background of differently oriented Gabors. In both tasks, accuracy was increased by the collinearity (Experiment 1) and similarity (Experiment 2) of elements within the three-Gabor group. ERP correlates of facilitation differed across tasks. For segmentation, they were indexed by increased amplitude of negative ERP components, specific for processing textures, peaking at 75-250 and 150-250 ms, respectively. For grouping, collinearity and similarity had different effects. Collinearity produced a positive polarity deflection between 40 and 179 ms (i.e. the opposite to segmentation). This task-dependent switch in sign of polarity change, without corresponding changes in the stimulus or perception, reflects distinct neural mechanisms for collinear facilitation in grouping and segmentation. In contrast, similarity reduced positivity at 275 ms. Results show similar modulation of segmentation components via the distinct mechanism underlying collinearity and similarity, but distinct modulation of grouping components via collinearity and similarity.

Long-term effects of MDMA (Ecstasy) on the human central nervous system revealed by visual evoked potentials.

Several studies indicate long-term cognitive impairment of MDMA (ecstasy) users. In the present study we attempted to establish whether electrophysiological correlates of low-level cognitive processes present a long-term alteration, dependent on the level of use of ecstasy. We addressed this issue by investigating amplitude and latency of VEPs related to a very simple discrimination task involving sustained attention (arousal). Eight heavy-MDMA users, eight moderate-MDMA users and 18 drug-free control subjects were asked to discriminate whether the digit at the centre of the screen was 1 or 2. None of the subjects (except one) had used MDMA in the 6 months previous testing. We measured psychophysical performance and EEG, recorded in Oz and Fz during task execution. The heavy-MDMA users made significantly more errors than the other two groups (p < .05). Moreover, they presented reduced amplitude but not latency of VEPs in both Oz and Fz. The effect in Oz is present in P200 (for heavy users only, p < .05) and in P300 components (for both MDMA groups; heavy users: p < .001, moderate users: p < .0.5). In Fz, the amplitude effect is present in N250 (for heavy users only, p < .05) and in P300 components (for both MDMA groups; heavy users: p < .05, moderate users: p < .05). The three groups do not differ in early components, reflecting low-level processing. These results provide evidence of long-term electrophysiological abnormality displayed by ecstasy users and agree with the suggestion that even typical recreational doses of ecstasy are sufficient to cause long-term altered cortical activity in humans.

High prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in healthy elderly people living at home in Argentina.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nutritional status of vitamin D in urban populations of healthy elderly people living at home, in different regions of Argentina. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SUBJECTS: In total, 386 ambulatory subjects over 65 y of age from seven cities (between latitude 26 degrees S and 55 degrees S) were asked to participate between the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Of these, 369 accepted, 30 were excluded because of medical history or abnormal biochemical determinations. Finally, 339 subjects (226 women and 113 men) (X+/-s.d.) (71.3+/- 5.2 y) were included. RESULTS: Serum 25OHD levels were lowest in the South (latitude range: 41 degrees S-55 degrees S): 14.2+/-5.6 ng/ml (P<0.0001vs North and Mid regions); highest in the North (26 degrees S-27 degrees S): 20.7+/-7.4 ng/ml (P<0.03 vs Mid, P<0.0001vs South); and intermediate in the Mid region (33 degrees S-34 degrees S) 17.9+/-8.2 ng/ml. Serum mid-molecule PTH (mmPTH) and 25OHD were inversely related: (r=-0.24, P<0.001). A cutoff level of 25OHD at which serum mmPTH levels began to increase was established at 27 ng/ml. A high prevalence (87-52%) of subjects with 25OHD levels in the deficiency-insufficiency range (25OHD levels <20 ng/ml) was detected. CONCLUSION: This study shows that vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency in the elderly is a worldwide problem. Correction of this deficit would have a positive impact on bone health of elderly people.

Molecular analysis of p53 tumor-suppressor gene and microsatellites in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the colon and esophagus.

Mutations in exons 4-8 of the p53 gene by the PCR-SSCP analysis in preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions of the colon (n=11) and esophagus (n=18) were screened. p53 overexpression by immunohistochemistry in 11 colonic lesions and 13 microsatellites, in all the patients (n=29), were also studied. A positive result concordancy between the three techniques was found in 1 adenoma and 2 adenocarcinomas of the colon, each with loss of heterozygocity of microsatellites. Metaplastic lesions of esophagus showed biallelic mutations and low frequency of microsatellite alterations. The relationship between genetic alterations in p53, microsatellites and type of colon and esophageal lesions is discussed.

Utilidad clínica de los marcadores de formación y resorción ósea / Clinical utility of biochemical merkers of bone turnover

Se evaluó el recambio óseo en distintas situaciones fisiológicas y patológicas que alteran el metabolismo óseo. A tal fin se analizó la utilidad de un marcador bioquímico de formación como la fosfatasa alcalina ósea (FAO) y uno de resorción ósea, como la fracción carboxilo terminal del telopéptido del colágeno tipo I (CTX). En la población adulta normal los hombres y mujeres premenopáusicas no presentaron diferencias significativas. Contrariamente, las mujeres posmenopáusicas tuvieron niveles de FAO y CTX significativamente mayores que éstos dos grupos (p<0,01). Entre el segundo y tercer trimestre de embarazo ambos marcadores aumentaron significativamente (FAO: p<0,009 y CTX: p<0,0003). Mientras la FAO no varió en posmenopáusicas ante el tratamiento hormonal de reemplazo (THR), el CTX disminuyó significativamente (p<0,001). Mujeres posmenopáusicas osteopénicas y osteoporóticas presentaron niveles de CTX y FAO significativamente menores luego de THR o tratamiento con bifosfonatos respecto de las no tratadas (FAO: p<0,05 y 0,03 y CTX: p<0,02 y 0,0001 respectivamente). Pacientes con insuficiencia renal en hemodiálisis presentaron niveles séricos de FAO y CTX significativamente mayores que los controles sanos por edad y sexo (p<0,05). Pacientes hipertiroideos, pagéticos o con patología ósea secundaria a enfermedad celíaca disminuyeron los niveles de FAO y CTX en forma significativa (p<0,05) luego del tratamiento específico. Como se esperaba, el marcador de resorción respondió más rápidamente a cambios en el remodelamiento óseo. Si le sumamos la alta especificidad y sensibilidad del CTX, se sugiere que éste marcador sería de utilidad en todas aquellas patologías en que se sospeche alteración o se quiera determinar el grado del remodelamiento óseo

Utilidad clínica de los marcadores de formación y resorción ósea / Clinical utility of biochemical merkers of bone turnover

Se evaluó el recambio óseo en distintas situaciones fisiológicas y patológicas que alteran el metabolismo óseo. A tal fin se analizó la utilidad de un marcador bioquímico de formación como la fosfatasa alcalina ósea (FAO) y uno de resorción ósea, como la fracción carboxilo terminal del telopéptido del colágeno tipo I (CTX). En la población adulta normal los hombres y mujeres premenopáusicas no presentaron diferencias significativas. Contrariamente, las mujeres posmenopáusicas tuvieron niveles de FAO y CTX significativamente mayores que éstos dos grupos (p<0,01). Entre el segundo y tercer trimestre de embarazo ambos marcadores aumentaron significativamente (FAO: p<0,009 y CTX: p<0,0003). Mientras la FAO no varió en posmenopáusicas ante el tratamiento hormonal de reemplazo (THR), el CTX disminuyó significativamente (p<0,001). Mujeres posmenopáusicas osteopénicas y osteoporóticas presentaron niveles de CTX y FAO significativamente menores luego de THR o tratamiento con bifosfonatos respecto de las no tratadas (FAO: p<0,05 y 0,03 y CTX: p<0,02 y 0,0001 respectivamente). Pacientes con insuficiencia renal en hemodiálisis presentaron niveles séricos de FAO y CTX significativamente mayores que los controles sanos por edad y sexo (p<0,05). Pacientes hipertiroideos, pagéticos o con patología ósea secundaria a enfermedad celíaca disminuyeron los niveles de FAO y CTX en forma significativa (p<0,05) luego del tratamiento específico. Como se esperaba, el marcador de resorción respondió más rápidamente a cambios en el remodelamiento óseo. Si le sumamos la alta especificidad y sensibilidad del CTX, se sugiere que éste marcador sería de utilidad en todas aquellas patologías en que se sospeche alteración o se quiera determinar el grado del remodelamiento óseo (AU)

Discrimination of an orientation difference in dynamic textures.

We investigated whether the response of a motion sensor was related to the specificity of sensory information (orientation and direction of motion) used to compute motion energy. This was done in two ways. First, we assessed whether orientation discrimination of a target line, which segregated by an orientation difference from a textured background, was improved with two-frame apparent motion stimulation (as compared with static presentation). Second, we investigated whether the amount of improvement (in either orientation or direction of motion discrimination) depends on a particular combination of target orientation and direction of motion (either orthogonal or parallel). We found that the percentage of correct responses in the discrimination task (a) was higher for a moving target than for a static one; (b) was higher when the target was oriented more orthogonally to motion direction than background elements; (c) was little affected by background motion and (d) decreased with frame duration in the direction of motion task whereas it was largely unaffected by frame duration in the discrimination of orientation task. These results suggest that discrimination of moving texture boundaries is based on a motion sensor tuned to a particular combination of orientation and direction of motion, which is capable of signalling the orientation of a moving target more accurately than a static sensor.

Visual search for single and combined features by children and adults: possible developmental inferences.

Visual search time was measured in four groups of children 4 to 10 years of age and in young adults, as a function of display size for both target present and target-absent conditions. The slopes of regression lines in a simple search (search for \ within /) were compared with those obtained in within-dimension conjunction target searches, within either homogeneous (search for the inverted T within Ts) or heterogeneous distractors (search for arrow within Ys and inverted Ys). Analysis indicated that simple search was always preattentive (slopes near 0) after 5 years of age and serial (with positive slopes) before this age. Searching within heterogeneous distractors apparently involved element-by-element scrutiny and focal attention in all groups whereas searching within homogeneous distractors required distributed attention, perhaps based on parallel grouping of distractors in adults, though distractors were focally attended to by children.

Spatial interactions in simple and combined-feature visual search.

To isolate the mechanisms responsible for spatial interactions in visual search, we investigated the effects of inter-element distance and positional jittering in both simple (in/s) and combined-feature (inverted V in Vs) search tasks in which the observer had to find a target in a background of similar nontargets. Thresholds, defined as the stimulus duration for 75% correct, were measured for 'present' and 'absent' target conditions as a function of background numerosity (ranging from 4 to 64 background elements), independently for four inter-element distances and three positional jittering conditions. Results show: (1) both simple and combined-feature search involve a parallel, capacity limited process, (2) thresholds for parallel search of simple features are directly related to inter-element distance whereas this has little effect on thresholds in combined-feature search, and (3) positional jittering has a direct effect on thresholds in combined-feature search and an inverse effect in simple-feature search. These results indicate that two different mechanisms of spatial interactions are involved in parallel search. The activation of each of the two mechanisms depends on the stimulus used. In parallel search for simple and dissimilar features, the underlying mechanism is a short-range one, based on lateral inhibition, whereas the parallel search for combined and similar features is based on a nontarget grouping mechanism which relies on facilitatory interactions between regular elements.

A new device for abrasive cytology sampling during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: experience in infectious and neoplastic diseases.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: The increase in infectious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract related to immunosuppression is becoming an important topic for the endoscopist. To improve the diagnostic efficacy of tissue acquisition while at the same time restricting costs, we have developed a new device for obtaining material from the upper gastrointestinal tract that can also be used in the diagnosis of neoplastic disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 90 patients were examined and assigned to two groups according to indications. Group A consisted of 53 symptomatic patients with positive human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) serology with a suspicion of gastrointestinal infection. Group B included 37 patients in whom there was an endoscopic suspicion of neoplasia in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Cell fragments for cytological study were obtained using a device introduced through the endoscopic instrumentation channel (abrasive cytology). Different staining methods were used to isolate bacteria or diagnose tumors from cell fragments. The findings were compared with those obtained from conventional bioptic histology. RESULTS: Potentially responsible pathogens were isolated in 48 of the 53 patients in Group A, while bioptic histology provided a diagnosis in only 32 patients. In the 37 patients in group B, the cytological diagnosis matched the histological results. The costs of this new technique are similar to those for conventional cytological staining, and the time from sampling to obtaining a final diagnosis is less than one hour. CONCLUSIONS: This new device provides a fast and low-cost method of isolating pathogens and obtaining cell fragments from the gastrointestinal mucosa during routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

A visual evoked potential correlate of global figure-ground segmentation.

Human observers discriminated the global orientation of a texture-defined figure which segregated from a texture surround. Global figure discriminability was manipulated through within-figure collinearity, figure-surround interaction, and figure connectedness, while the local orientation contrast at edges between figure and surround was kept constant throughout all the experiments. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded during onset-offset stimulation in which the figure cyclically appeared and disappeared from a uniform texture background. A difference component was obtained by subtraction of offset-from onset-VEP. Two negative peaks of the difference component are found with latencies around 140-160 and 200-260 ms, respectively. Enhanced discriminability of the global figure reduced (11-25 ms) the latency of the second peak, hence indicating that the 200-260 ms component was produced by global figure-ground segmentation.

Parallel search for conjunctions with stimuli in apparent motion.

A series of experiments was conducted to determine whether apparent motion tends to follow the similarity rule (i.e. is attribute-specific) and to investigate the underlying mechanism. Stimulus duration thresholds were measured during a two-alternative forced-choice task in which observers detected either the location or the motion direction of target groups defined by the conjunction of size and orientation. Target element positions were randomly chosen within a nominally defined rectangular subregion of the display (target region). The target region was presented either statically (followed by a 250 ms duration mask) or dynamically, displaced by a small distance (18 min of arc) from frame to frame. In the motion display, the position of both target and background elements was changed randomly from frame to frame within the respective areas to abolish spatial correspondence over time. Stimulus duration thresholds were lower in the motion than in the static task, indicating that target detection in the dynamic condition does not rely on the explicit identification of target elements in each static frame. Increasing the distractor-to-target ratio was found to reduce detectability in the static, but not in the motion task. This indicates that the perceptual segregation of the target is effortless and parallel with motion but not with static displays. The pattern of results holds regardless of the task or search paradigm employed. The detectability in the motion condition can be improved by increasing the number of frames and/or by reducing the width of the target area. Furthermore, parallel search in the dynamic condition can be conducted with both short-range and long-range motion stimuli. Finally, apparent motion of conjunctions is insufficient on its own to support location decision and is disrupted by random visual noise. Overall, these findings show that (i) the mechanism underlying apparent motion is attribute-specific; (ii) the motion system mediates temporal integration of feature conjunctions before they are identified by the static system; and (iii) target detectability in these stimuli relies upon a nonattentive, cooperative, directionally selective motion mechanism that responds to high-level attributes (conjunction of size and orientation).

Visual selective attention and reading efficiency are related in children.

We investigated the relationship between visual selective attention and linguistic performance. Subjects were classified in four categories according to their accuracy in a letter cancellation task involving selective attention. The task consisted in searching a target letter in a set of background letters and accuracy was measured as a function of set size. We found that children with the lowest performance in the cancellation task present a significantly slower reading rate and a higher number of reading visual errors than children with highest performance. Results also show that these groups of searchers present significant differences in a lexical search task whereas their performance did not differ in lexical decision and syllables control task. The relationship between letter search and reading, as well as the finding that poor readers-searchers perform poorly lexical search tasks also involving selective attention, suggest that the relationship between letter search and reading difficulty may reflect a deficit in a visual selective attention mechanisms which is involved in all these tasks. A deficit in visual attention can be linked to the problems that disabled readers present in the function of magnocellular stream which culminates in posterior parietal cortex, an area which plays an important role in guiding visual attention.

Visual search of good and poor readers: effects with targets having single and combined features.

This study examined differences between normal and poor readers in the visual-search strategy used to detect a target shape in a background of similar shapes. No differences between the two groups occur in search for simple features (Exps. 1 and 3) and conjunction of features (Exp. 2). However, the performance of the two groups differ on search tasks with multifeatured shapes, in which targets and nontargets differ in both the identity of features and their spatial relationship or in the spatial relationship of features alone. Results suggest that, rather than a problem in searching complex stimuli, poor searchers have difficulty within stimuli like letters and geometrical shapes which require integration of features within a module of the visual system.

Calcium metabolism and its regulating hormones in patients with leprosy.

Calcium metabolism was studied in 47 patients with borderline or lepromatous leprosy. Total and ionized calcium, phosphorus, creatinine, total alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D], and 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D [1,25(OH)2D] were measured in serum; calcium and total hydroxyproline were determined in urine. Total subperiosteal diameter and medullar cavity diameter were measured on an X-ray of the hand of all patients. Average values were within normal ranges for all of the biochemical determinations. Total serum calcium was moderately below the normal range in eight patients but ionized calcium levels were within the normal ranges in all of the patients. Four patients, all of them with lepromatous leprosy, had levels of 1,25(OH)2D higher than normal but none of them was hypercalcemic and PTH levels were within normal range. Although all values were within the normal ranges, lepromatous leprosy patients had lower total calcium, higher alkaline phosphatase, and higher urinary hydroxyproline than borderline leprosy patients (9.1 +/- 0.4 vs 9.4 +/- 0.3 mg%, p < 0.001; 10.3 +/- 2.9 vs 7.4 +/- 2.3 King-Armstrong units, p < 0.02 and 27.2 +/- 12 vs 19.4 +/- 5.6 mg/24 hr, p < 0.02, respectively). No differences were found between patients and controls in the average micrometric measurements of the second metacarpal bone but significant osteopenia was found in 19% of the patients. The main finding of the present study in a representative sample of leprosy patients is that the average total serum calcium was in the lowest limit of the normal range, but the ionized serum calcium was in the middle of the normal range.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)