Balancing central control and sensory feedback produces adaptable and robust locomotor patterns in a spiking, neuromechanical model of the salamander spinal cord.

This study introduces a novel neuromechanical model employing a detailed spiking neural network to explore the role of axial proprioceptive sensory feedback, namely stretch feedback, in salamander locomotion. Unlike previous studies that often oversimplified the dynamics of the locomotor networks, our model includes detailed simulations of the classes of neurons that are considered responsible for generating movement patterns. The locomotor circuits, modeled as a spiking neural network of adaptive leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, are coupled to a three-dimensional mechanical model of a salamander with realistic physical parameters and simulated muscles.

The effect of a protective layer on the optical behavior of retro-reflective paintings for building envelopes.

Retro-reflective (RR) materials, applied to building envelopes, constitute an option to tackle Urban Heat Island phenomenon, thanks to their capability to reflect the sunlight predominantly towards the solar incidence direction. RR coatings are obtained with the deposition of glass beads on traditional diffusive materials. During their lifetime, outdoor aging and soiling affect their optical behavior.

Case report: Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy (CADASIL) as a risk factor for central serous chorioretinopathy.

Purpose: To describe an atypical case of central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) in a patient with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy (CADASIL).

Methods: A retrospective case report.

Results: A 43-year-old white man with a genetic diagnosis of CADASIL was referred to our hospital because of reduced visual acuity in his right eye (20/30).

Integrated quantitative PIXE analysis and EDX spectroscopy using a laser-driven particle source.

Among the existing elemental characterization techniques, particle-induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) spectroscopy are two of the most widely used in different scientific and technological fields. Here, we present the first quantitative laser-driven PIXE and laser-driven EDX experimental investigation performed at the Centro de Láseres Pulsados in Salamanca. Thanks to their potential for compactness and portability, laser-driven particle sources are very appealing for materials science applications, especially for materials analysis techniques.

Is choriocapillaris the early target in acute maculopathy secondary to hand, foot, and mouth disease? A case report.

Purpose: To report the case of a 33-year old man who disclosed the first case of bilateral ocular involvement of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) with a different stage of the disease in each eye.

Methods: Retrospective case report.

Results: The study included a patient who incurred in a bilateral HFMD maculopathy.

Diabetic Macular Edema: State of Art and Intraocular Pharmacological Approaches.

Diabetic macular edema (DME) is the main cause of vision loss in diabetic retinopathy (DR). Although it is one of the main complications of diabetes, the pathogenesis of DME is not completely understood. The hyperglycemic state promotes the activation of multiple interlinked pathways leading to DME.

Disconnected Body Representation: Neuroplasticity Following Spinal Cord Injury.

Neuroplastic changes in somatotopic organization within the motor and somatosensory systems have long been observed. The interruption of afferent and efferent brain-body pathways promotes extensive cortical reorganization. Changes are majorly related to the typical homuncular organization of sensorimotor areas and specific "somatotopic interferences".

Role of Statins and Ascorbic Acid in the Natural History of Diabetic Retinopathy: A New, Affordable Therapy?

Background And Objective: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a worldwide health problem, and intravitreal injections of anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic agents represent the leading therapy to effectively treat DR and its complications. However, they are expensive, invasive, and stressful for patients. This study aims to demonstrate that statins and vitamin C (alone or in combination with statins) as complementary therapy could have an impact on the nonproliferative DR (NPDR) complication rate.

Ultra-intense laser interaction with nanostructured near-critical plasmas.

Near-critical plasmas irradiated at ultra-high laser intensities (I > 10W/cm) allow to improve the performances of laser-driven particle and radiation sources and to explore scenarios of great astrophysical interest. Near-critical plasmas with controlled properties can be obtained with nanostructured low-density materials. By means of 3D Particle-In-Cell simulations, we investigate how realistic nanostructures influence the interaction of an ultra-intense laser with a plasma having a near-critical average electron density.

Cortical and Physical Function after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to prospectively examine the association between intracortical inhibition and functional recovery after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Methods: Twenty individuals with mTBI and 20 matched control participants were assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation, the Attentional Network Test, and gait analysis. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to longitudinally examine potential differences between groups and relationships in the pattern of recovery in cortical silent period (CSP) duration, cognitive reaction time, and single- and dual-task walking speeds across five testing time points.

Oral Ondansetron versus Domperidone for Acute Gastroenteritis in Pediatric Emergency Departments: Multicenter Double Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.

The use of antiemetics for vomiting in acute gastroenteritis in children is still a matter of debate. We conducted a double-blind randomized trial to evaluate whether a single oral dose of ondansetron vs domperidone or placebo improves outcomes in children with gastroenteritis. After failure of initial oral rehydration administration, children aged 1-6 years admitted for gastroenteritis to the pediatric emergency departments of 15 hospitals in Italy were randomized to receive one oral dose of ondansetron (0.

Long-lasting corneal endothelial graft rejection successfully reversed after dexamethasone intravitreal implant.

Graft rejection is the most significant complication corneal transplantation and the leading indication for overall corneal transplantation. Corticosteroid therapy represents the mainstay of graft rejection treatment; however, the optimal route of administration of corticosteroid remains uncertain. We report herein for the first time the multimodal imaging of a case of long-lasting corneal endothelial graft rejection successfully reversed 3 months after dexamethasone intravitreal implant.

Aflibercept as primary treatment for myopic choroidal neovascularisation: a retrospective study.

AIM The aim of this study is to evaluate long-term efficacy of intravitreal injections of aflibercept as primary treatment for subfoveal/juxtafoveal myopic choroidal neovascularisation (CNV).METHODS Thirty-eight treatment-naive eyes of thirty-eight patients with subfoveal/juxtafoveal myopic CNV received initial intravitreal aflibercept injections and were followed for at least 18 months. Aflibercept was applied again for persistent or recurrent CNV, as required.

Vitrectomy without laser treatment for macular serous detachment associated with optic disc pit: long-term outcomes.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical outcome of surgical treatment for macular serous detachment associated with optic disc pit with pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) without laser photocoagulation on the temporal edge.

Methods: Vitrectomy was performed in 8 eyes of 8 patients (mean age 27.25 years; range 12-57 years) with unilateral macular detachment associated with optic disc pit.

The statistical accuracy and theoretical status of discrete-state MPT models: reply to Batchelder and Alexander (2013).

In "A Critical Comparison of Discrete-State and Continuous Models of Recognition Memory: Implications for Recognition and Beyond," Pazzaglia, Dube, and Rotello (2013) explored the threshold multinomial processing tree (MPT) framework as applied to several domains of experimental psychology. Pazzaglia et al. concluded that threshold MPT analyses require assumptions at the representation and measurement levels that are contradicted by existing data in several domains.

Patient interpersonal and cognitive changes and their relation to outcome in interpersonal psychotherapy for depression.

Objective: Despite interpersonal psychotherapy's (IPT) efficacy for depression, little is known about its change-promoting ingredients. This exploratory study examined candidate change mechanisms by identifying whether patients' interpersonal and cognitive characteristics change during IPT and whether such changes relate to outcomes.

Method: Patients were 95 depressed adults receiving manualized IPT.

A critical comparison of discrete-state and continuous models of recognition memory: implications for recognition and beyond.

Multinomial processing tree (MPT) models such as the single high-threshold, double high-threshold, and low-threshold models are discrete-state decision models that map internal cognitive events onto overt responses. The apparent benefit of these models is that they provide independent measures of accuracy and response bias, a claim that has motivated their frequent application in many areas of psychological science including perception, item and source memory, social cognition, reasoning, educational testing, eyewitness testimony, and psychopathology. Before appropriate conclusions about a given analysis can be drawn, however, one must first confirm that the model's assumptions about the underlying structure of the data are valid.

Unequal-strength source zROC slopes reflect criteria placement and not (necessarily) memory processes.

Source memory zROC slopes change from below 1 to above 1 depending on which source gets the strongest learning. This effect has been attributed to memory processes, either in terms of a threshold source recollection process or changes in the variability of continuous source evidence. We propose 2 decision mechanisms that can produce the slope effect, and we test them in 3 experiments.

Baseline patient characteristics as predictors of remission in interpersonal psychotherapy for depression.

We examined patient characteristics as remission predictors in interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for depression (n=95). Four characteristic domains (sociodemographic, clinical/diagnostic, interpersonal, cognitive) were analyzed using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Remission was defined two ways: (a) posttreatment BDI-II beyond population-based cut-scores for reliable and clinically significant change, and (b) posttreatment BDI-II≤10.

Oral ondansetron versus domperidone for symptomatic treatment of vomiting during acute gastroenteritis in children: multicentre randomized controlled trial.

Background: Vomiting in children with acute gastroenteritis (AG) is not only a direct cause of fluid loss but it is also a major factor of failure of oral rehydration therapy (ORT). Physicians who provide care to paediatric patients in the emergency department (ED) usually prescribe intravenous fluid therapy (IVT) for mild or moderate dehydration when vomiting is the major symptom. Thus, effective symptomatic treatment of vomiting would lead to an important reduction in the use of IVT and, consequently, of the duration of hospital stay and of frequency of hospital admission.

Fluid responsiveness and right ventricular function in cardiac surgical patients. A multicenter study.

Introduction: We investigated fluid responsiveness in a population of patients undergoing coronary artery revascularization, with respect to their right ventricular ejection fraction.

Materials And Methods: This was a multicenter trial involving 11 cardiac surgical Institutions and 65 patients undergoing elective coronary artery revascularization. Hemodynamic parameters were measured before and after volume expansion using a modified pulmonary artery catheter and transesophageal echocardiographic monitoring.

Intravitreal vs. subtenon triamcinolone acetonide for the treatment of diabetic cystoid macular edema.

Background: To assess the efficacy of the intravitreal (IVT) injection of Triamcinolone Acetonide (TA) as compared to posterior subtenon (SBT) capsule injection for the treatment of cystoid diabetic macular edema.

Methods: Fourteen patients with type II diabetes mellitus and on insulin treatment, presenting diffuse cystoid macular edema were recruited. Before TA injection all focal lakes were treated by laser photocoagulation.

Body size, gender, and transfusions as determinants of outcome after coronary operations.

Background: Small body size, female gender, and transfusions are traditionally considered morbidity and mortality risk factors in coronary surgery. Because these clinical conditions are interrelated, we designed a study to investigate their respective roles in determining adverse outcomes after coronary operations.

Methods: A retrospective study on 4,546 consecutive patients who underwent coronary surgery was performed.