[Driving improvement in spinal cord injury patients using virtual reality. Systematic review]. / Mejora de la conducción en pacientes con lesión medular mediante el uso de la realidad virtual. Revisión sistemática.

INTRODUCTION: Spinal cord injury is a pathology which causes motor and sensory impairment under the region damaged by the lesion. This results in limitations in daily activities such as driving. In recent years, improvement in this task has been achieved by means of virtual reality treatment in the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injury. The aim of the present study was to analyze, through a systematic review, the effectiveness of using virtual reality on driving skills in patients with spinal cord injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The literature search was carried out using the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, PEDro, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Scopus and CINAHL, including articles published from January 2000 to May 2021. RESULTS: After the research process, out of a total of 51 articles, 7 were included: 2 applied immersive VR and 5 semi-immersive VR. Road driving simulation was addressed by 4 of them: 1 on sailing, 1 on motorbike and 1 on bicycle. CONCLUSIONS: The use of virtual reality in driving skills training has led to improvements in quality of life, driving skills and reduction of fear of driving. Despite these findings, more research, patients, sessions and improvements are needed for a clearer understanding of this topic and its usefulness.

TITLE: Mejora de la conducción en pacientes con lesión medular mediante el uso de la realidad virtual. Revisión sistemática.Introducción. La lesión medular es una patología que provoca afectaciones motoras y sensitivas por debajo de la lesión. Esto da lugar a limitaciones en las actividades de la vida diaria, como en la capacidad de conducción. En los últimos años, la mejora en esta tarea se ha llevado a cabo mediante el tratamiento a través de la realidad virtual (RV) en la rehabilitación de pacientes con lesión medular. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la eficacia del uso de la RV en la capacidad de conducción en pacientes con lesión medular mediante una revisión sistemática. Materiales y métodos. La búsqueda bibliográfica se llevó a cabo en las siguientes bases de datos: PubMed, Web of Science, PEDro, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Scopus y CINAHL, incluyendo los artículos publicados desde enero de 2000 hasta mayo de 2021. Resultados. Tras el proceso de búsqueda, de un total de 51 artículos, se incluyeron siete; dos aplicaron RV inmersiva, y cinco, semiinmersiva. La simulación de conducción en carretera fue abordada por cuatro de ellos, uno de navegación, uno sobre motocicleta y uno en bicicleta. Conclusiones. El uso de la RV en el entrenamiento de la capacidad de conducción ha supuesto mejoras en la calidad de vida, en las habilidades de conducción y en la reducción del miedo a conducir. A pesar de esto, se necesita más investigación, con un mayor número de pacientes, mayor número de sesiones y mejoras en los simuladores de conducción.

Mejora de la conducción en pacientes con lesión medular mediante el uso de la realidad virtual. Revisión sistemática / Driving improvement in spinal cord injury patients using virtual reality. Systematic review

Introducción: La lesión medular es una patología que provoca afectaciones motoras y sensitivas por debajo de la lesión. Esto da lugar a limitaciones en las actividades de la vida diaria, como en la capacidad de conducción. En los últimos años, la mejora en esta tarea se ha llevado a cabo mediante el tratamiento a través de la realidad virtual (RV) en la rehabilitación de pacientes con lesión medular. El objetivo del presente estudio fue analizar la eficacia del uso de la RV en la capacidad de conducción en pacientes con lesión medular mediante una revisión sistemática. Materiales y métodos: La búsqueda bibliográfica se llevó a cabo en las siguientes bases de datos: PubMed, Web of Science, PEDro, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Scopus y CINAHL, incluyendo los artículos publicados desde enero de 2000 hasta mayo de 2021. Resultados: Tras el proceso de búsqueda, de un total de 51 artículos, se incluyeron siete; dos aplicaron RV inmersiva, y cinco, semiinmersiva. La simulación de conducción en carretera fue abordada por cuatro de ellos, uno de navegación, uno sobre motocicleta y uno en bicicleta. Conclusiones: El uso de la RV en el entrenamiento de la capacidad de conducción ha supuesto mejoras en la calidad de vida, en las habilidades de conducción y en la reducción del miedo a conducir. A pesar de esto, se necesita más investigación, con un mayor número de pacientes, mayor número de sesiones y mejoras en los simuladores de conducción.(AU)

Introduction: Spinal cord injury is a pathology which causes motor and sensory impairment under the region damaged by the lesion. This results in limitations in daily activities such as driving. In recent years, improvement in this task has been achieved by means of virtual reality treatment in the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injury. The aim of the present study was to analyze, through a systematic review, the effectiveness of using virtual reality on driving skills in patients with spinal cord injury. Materials and methods: The literature search was carried out using the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, PEDro, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Scopus and CINAHL, including articles published from January 2000 to May 2021. Results: After the research process, out of a total of 51 articles, 7 were included: 2 applied immersive VR and 5 semi-immersive VR. Road driving simulation was addressed by 4 of them: 1 on sailing, 1 on motorbike and 1 on bicycle. Conclusions: The use of virtual reality in driving skills training has led to improvements in quality of life, driving skills and reduction of fear of driving. Despite these findings, more research, patients, sessions and improvements are needed for a clearer understanding of this topic and its usefulness.(AU)

Polymer dynamics under cylindrical confinement featuring a locally repulsive surface: A quasielastic neutron scattering study.

We investigated the effect of intermediate cylindrical confinement with locally repulsive walls on the segmental and entanglement dynamics of a polymer melt by quasielastic neutron scattering. As a reference, the corresponding polymer melt was measured under identical conditions. The locally repulsive confinement was realized by hydrophilic anodic alumina nanopores with a diameter of 20 nm. The end-to-end distance of the hydrophobic infiltrated polyethylene-alt-propylene was close to this diameter. In the case of hard wall repulsion with negligible local attraction, several simulations predicted an acceleration of segmental dynamics close to the wall. Other than in attractive or neutral systems, where the segmental dynamics is slowed down, we found that the segmental dynamics in the nanopores is identical to the local mobility in the bulk. Even under very careful scrutiny, we could not find any acceleration of the surface-near segmental motion. On the larger time scale, the neutron spin-echo experiment showed that the Rouse relaxation was not altered by confinement effects. Also the entanglement dynamics was not affected. Thus at moderate confinement conditions, facilitated by locally repulsive walls, the dynamics remains as in the bulk melt, a result that is not so clear from simulations.

Nanopatterned PMMA-Yb:Er/Tm:Lu2O3 composites with visible upconversion emissions.

Nanopillars, nanotubes and nanofibers of transparent polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer with Yb:Ln:Lu2O3 (Ln = Er or Tm) nanoparticles (NPs) (≈30-35 nm average size) have been prepared by infiltration of anodized aluminum oxide hexagonally nanopatterned templates. The outer diameter of these nanostructures is in the 330-400 nm range, with lengths up to 50 µm and a period distance of 430 nm. These nanostructures show visible upconversion (UC) emissions under excitation with 978 nm light. The steady state temperature of the polymer nanostructures is optically evidenced by the Er(3+) UC emission and optically controlled around the PMMA glass transition temperature by the excitation light, introducing a new method for NP storage in a solid and potential optically induced particle release. Full color emission is shown in tridoped (Yb:Er:Tm) samples.

Effect of nanoconfinement on polymer dynamics: surface layers and interphases.

We present neutron spin echo experiments that address the much debated topic of dynamic phenomena in polymer melts that are induced by interacting with a confining surface. We find an anchored surface layer that internally is highly mobile and not glassy as heavily promoted in the literature. The polymer dynamics in confinement is, rather, determined by two phases, one fully equal to the bulk polymer and another that is partly anchored at the surface. By strong topological interaction, this phase confines further chains with no direct contact to the surface. These form the often invoked interphase, where the full chain relaxation is impeded through the interaction with the anchored chains.

Direct observation of confined single chain dynamics by neutron scattering.

Neutron spin echo has revealed the single chain dynamic structure factor of entangled polymer chains confined in cylindrical nanopores with chain dimensions either much larger or smaller than the lateral pore sizes. In both situations, a slowing down of the dynamics with respect to the bulk behavior is only observed at intermediate times. The results at long times provide a direct microscopic measurement of the entanglement distance under confinement. They constitute the first experimental microscopic evidence of the dilution of the total entanglement density in a polymer melt under strong confinement, a phenomenon that so far was hypothesized on the basis of various macroscopic observations.

Morphine produces circuit-specific neuroplasticity in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BST) is a brain structure located at the interface of the cortex and the cerebrospinal trunk. The BST is a cluster of nuclei organized in a complex intrinsic network that receives inputs from cortical and subcortical sources, and that sends a widespread top-down projection. There is growing evidence that the BST is a key component in the neurobiological basis of substance abuse. In the present study, the regulation of excitatory inputs onto identified neurons in the BST was examined in rats treated chronically with morphine. Neurons projecting to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) were identified by retrograde transport of fluorescent microspheres and recorded in the whole-cell voltage clamp configuration in brain slices. Selective excitatory inputs to these neurons were electrically evoked with electrodes placed in the medial and lateral aspects of the dorsal BST. The chronic morphine treatment selectively increased AMPA-dependent excitatory postsynaptic currents in a subset of inputs activated by dorso-lateral stimulation in the BST. Inputs activated by medial stimulation were not affected by morphine. Likewise, the inputs to neurons that did not project to the VTA were not changed by morphine. Altogether, these results extend the understanding of neuronal circuits intrinsically sensitive to drugs of abuse within the BST.

[Sinus syndrome, an uncommon cause of enophthalmos]. / Síndrome del seno silente, una causa infrecuente de enoftalmos.

CLINICAL CASE: A 29-year-old woman presented with a subjective sensation of ocular asymmetry from several months beforehand. Ophthalmological exam showed 3,5 mm right enophthalmos and light hypoglobus. CT (Computerized Tomography) scan showed a collapsed maxillar sinus, and a thinned inferior orbital wall. The diagnosis of silent sinus syndrome was made. An endoscopic maxillary antrostomy with uncinectomy was made with an excellent surgical outcome. DISCUSSION: Clinical features of silent sinus syndrome are described, including diagnosis, differential diagnosis and treatment.

Síndrome del seno silente, una causa infrecuente de enoftalmos / Sinus syndrome, an uncommon cause of enophthalmos

Caso clínico: Una paciente de 29 años de edad acudió para valoración de sensación subjetiva de asimetría ocular de meses de evolución. El examen oftalmológico apreció un enoftalmos de 3,5 mm y un leve desplazamiento inferior del globo. Una TAC (Tomografía Axial Computerizada) demostró un colapso del seno maxilar, con adelgazamiento y abombamiento inferior del suelo de la orbita. Se confirmó el diagnóstico de síndrome del seno silente. Fue intervenida, practicándose una antrostomía endoscópica con franca mejoría clínica. Discusión: Se comentan las características clínicas del síndrome del seno silente, así como su diagnóstico, diagnóstico diferencial y tratamiento

Clinical case: A 29-year-old woman presented with a subjective sensation of ocular asymmetry from several months beforehand. Ophthalmological exam showed 3,5 mm right enophthalmos and light hypoglobus. CT (Computerized Tomography) scan showed a collapsed maxillar sinus, and a thinned inferior orbital wall. The diagnosis of silent sinus syndrome was made. An endoscopic maxillary antrostomy with uncinectomy was made with an excellent surgical outcome. Discussion: Clinical features of silent sinus syndrome are described, including diagnosis, differential diagnosis and treatment