Search results for "DEC"
showing 10 items of 10327 documents
Deep venous thrombosis: Behaviour of the polymorphonuclear leukocyte integrin pattern at baseline and after in vitro activation
2005
In a group of 18 subjects with acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT), evidenced by clinical examination and echo-color-Doppler, we examined the phenotypical expression of the polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) beta2-integrins (CD11a, CD11b, CD11c, CD18), obtained by using a flow cytofluorimeter. The evaluation was performed before and after in vitro activation (prolonged for 5 and 15 minutes) with 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). In DVT subjects, at baseline, the phenotypical expression of CD11b was decreased and that of CD11c was increased when compared with normal controls; no difference was found in CD11a and CD18 expression. In norm…
Neural Correlates of Visual versus Abstract Letter Processing in Roman and Arabic Scripts
2013
In alphabetic orthographies, letter identification is a critical process during the recognition of visually presented words. In the present experiment, we examined whether and when visual form influences letter processing in two very distinct alphabets (Roman and Arabic). Disentangling visual versus abstract letter representations was possible because letters in the Roman alphabet may look visually similar/dissimilar in lowercase and uppercase forms (e.g., c-C vs. r-R) and letters in the Arabic alphabet may look visually similar/dissimilar, depending on their position within a word (e.g., [Formula: see text] - [Formula: see text] vs. [Formula: see text] - [Formula: see text]). We employed a…
Can letter position encoding be modified by visual perceptual elements?
2018
A plethora of studies has revealed that letter position coding is relatively flexible during word recognition (e.g., the transposed-letter [TL] pseudoword CHOLOCATE is frequently misread as CHOCOLATE). A plausible explanation of this phenomenon is that letter identity and location are not perfectly bound as a consequence of the limitations of the visual system. Thus, a complete characterization of letter position coding requires an examination of how letter position coding can be modulated by visual perceptual elements. Here we conducted three lexical decision experiments with TL and replacement-letter pseudowords that manipulated the visual characteristics of the stimuli. In Experiment 1,…
Release of premotor activity after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of prefrontal cortex
2008
In the present study we aimed to explore by means of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) the reciprocal influences between prefrontal cortex (PFC) and premotor cortex (PMC). Subjects were asked to observe on a computer monitor different pictures representing manipulations of different kind of tools. They had to produce a movement (go condition) or to keep the resting position (no-go condition) at the appearance of different cue signals represented by different colors shown alternatively on the hands manipulating the tools or on the picture background. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were collected at the offset of the visual stimuli before and after a 10 minute, 1 Hz rTMS tra…
The importance of pyramidal lobe in thyroid surgery
2008
Pyramidal lobe (PL) is an embryological remnant of the thyro-glossal duct; its incidence varies from 15% to 75% but data concerning its size are lacking and limited to autoptic and radiologic evidences. Aim of our study is to elucidate the intraoperative frequency, location and surgical management of the PL.604 total thyroidectomy were performed between 1999 and 2007 in Unit of General and Thoracic Surgery of the University Policlinico of Palermo. The intraoperative incidence of PL was 12% (57% male, 43% female, mean age 42.5 years), but only about 50% were identified preoperatively with ultrasonography (US) (4% false positive) or with Tc-99m pertechnetate scintigraphy (8% false positive).I…
Acceptability of Intimate Partner Violence among Male Offenders: The Role of Set-Shifting and Emotion Decoding Dysfunctions as Cognitive Risk Factors.
2019
Attitudes towards the acceptability of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) contribute to an increased risk of IPVAW perpetration, and these attitudes are common among IPVAW offenders. Research suggests that IPVAW offenders present cognitive deficits related to information processing. Little is known, however, about how these deficits are related to the acceptability of IPVAW. The main aim of this study was to explore the relationship between specific cognitive deficits (i.e., deficits in attention switching, set-shifting, and emotion decoding abilities) and the acceptability of IPVAW in a sample of 84 IPVAW offenders. Results revealed that IPVAW offenders with deficits in attent…
Long-Term Drug Misuse Increases the Risk of Cognitive Dysfunctions in Intimate Partner Violence Perpetrators: Key Intervention Targets for Reducing D…
2019
Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a major public health problem, with an important mortality rate in women across the world. In this regard, it has been well-established that drug misuse explains (at least in part) an increased risk of IPVAW perpetration. Even though alcohol is the most widely studied drug underlying IPVAW, other drugs, such as cannabis and cocaine also seem to be significant indicators of this type of violence. Nonetheless, little is known about mediators, such as cognitive domains that facilitate proneness to violence after drug consumption. Therefore, the primary objective of the present study was to compare drug misuse patterns and cognitive performance…
Hashimoto Thyroiditis Coexistent with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma
2005
Several studies report a higher rate of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTC) in patients with Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT), indicating a possible correlation between the two diseases. We studied a group of 89 subjects undergoing surgery for thyroid carcinomas compared with a control group of 89 subjects operated on for normofunctioning goiter, and a second group of 47 patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for HT. Association with HT was found in 19 of the 71 PTC subjects (26.7%) and in 8 goiter patients (8.9%), which was a significant difference ( P < 0.02). Thirteen of the HT patients, mostly with the nodular form, showed coexistent PTC (27.6%). HT and PTC coexisted in several morphologi…
Terminal ligature of inferior thyroid arterhy branches during total thyroidectomy for multinodular goiter is associated with higher postoperative cal…
2010
Purpose: To evaluate the impact of truncal versus terminal branch ligature of the inferior thyroid artery (ITA) on postoperative calcium and PTH plasma levels in patients undergoing total thyroidectomy for multinodular goiter. Methods: A prospective randomized study was performed comparing a group of patients that underwent either truncal ligature of the ITA (group 1) or terminal ligature of ITA branches (group 2). Results: A series of 126 consecutive patients with non-toxic euthyroid multinodular goiter underwent total thyroidectomy. Truncal ligature of the ITA was performed in 63 patients (group 1) and terminal branch ITA ligature in 63 patients (group 2). Postoperative ionized serum calc…
The effects of length and transposed-letter similarity in lexical decision: evidence with beginning, intermediate, and adult readers.
2007
Do length and transposed-letter effects reflect developmental changes on reading acquisition in a transparent orthography? Can computational models of visual word recognition accommodate these changes? To answer these questions, we carried out a masked priming lexical decision experiment with Spanish beginning, intermediate, and adult readers (N=36, 44, and 39; average age: 7, 11, and 22 years, respectively). Target words were either short or long (6.5 vs. 8.5 letters), and transposed-letter primes were formed by the transposition of two letters (e.g. aminal-ANIMAL) or by the substitution of two letters (orthographic control: arisal-ANIMAL). Children showed a robust length effect (i.e. long…