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Abstract Background To overcome the application limitations of functional electrical stimulation (FES), such as fatigue or nonlinear muscle response, the combination of neuroprosthetic systems with robotic devices has been evaluated, resulting in hybrid systems that have promising potential. However, current technology shows a lack of flexibility to adapt to the needs of any application, context or individual. The main objective of this study is the development of a new modular neuroprosthetic system suitable for hybrid FES-robot applications to meet these needs. Methods In this study, we conducted an analysis of the requirements for developing hybrid FES-robot systems and reviewed existing literature on similar systems. Building upon these insights, we developed a novel modular neuroprosthetic system tailored for hybrid applications. The system was specifically adapted for gait assistance, and a technological personalization process based on clinical criteria was devised. This process was used to generate different system configurations adjusted to four individuals with spinal cord injury or stroke. The effect of each system configuration on gait kinematic metrics was analyzed by using repeated measures ANOVA or Friedman’s test. Results A modular NP system has been developed that is distinguished by its flexibility, scalability and personalization capabilities. With excellent connection characteristics, it can be effectively integrated with robotic devices. Its 3D design facilitates fitting both as a stand-alone system and in combination with other robotic devices. In addition, it meets rigorous requirements for safe use by incorporating appropriate safety protocols, and features appropriate battery autonomy, weight and dimensions. Different technological configurations adapted to the needs of each patient were obtained, which demonstrated an impact on the kinematic gait pattern comparable to that of other devices reported in the literature. Conclusions The system met the identified technical requirements, showcasing advancements compared to systems reported in the literature. In addition, it demonstrated its versatility and capacity to be combined with robotic devices forming hybrids, adapting well to the gait application. Moreover, the personalization procedure proved to be useful in obtaining various system configurations tailored to the diverse needs of individuals.

IntroductionThe ABLE Exoskeleton has been tested to be safe and feasible for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) to complete basic skills in clinical settings but has not been tested for use in home and community environments. A user-centered design process was employed to test the feasibility of the current ABLE Exoskeleton (designed for clinical use) for persons with SCI to perform the basic and advanced skills required for home and community environments, to gain crucial feedback for the development of a novel personal-use exoskeleton.MethodsIn this prospective pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study across two SCI centers (Germany, Spain), in-and outpatients with SCI were included into a 22-session training and assessment protocol, utilizing the ABLE Exoskeleton. Feasibility and usability measures [level of assistance (LoA) for basic and advanced skills, donning/doffing-time and LoA] were recorded together with safety outcomes, and participant and therapist satisfaction with the device.Results10 participants (44.4 ± 24 years), with SCI from C5 to T11, (American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale A–D) completed the study. In 209 sessions, six device-related adverse events (pain and skin lesions) were reported. Average total time for don and doff was 10:23 ± 3:30 min. Eight participants were able to complete don and doff with minimal assistance or less. Independence to carry out all skills in the device increased significantly for all participants (p

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281197.].

IntroductionDigital solutions for cognitive assessment are currently not only widely used in experimental contexts but can also be useful in clinical practice for efficient screening and longitudinal follow-up. The “Guttmann Cognitest”®, which includes seven computerized tasks designed to assess main cognitive functions, revealed in a previous validation study to be a potential useful tool to assess cognitive functioning in healthy middle-aged adults.MethodHere, we present results from a validation in two different populations: one consisting of older adults, and the other comprising young and middle-aged individuals, some of them affected by acquired brain injury. To perform a convergent validity test, older adults were also administered with the MOCA, while young and middle-aged individuals were administered with a short neuropsychological assessment including gold-standard neuropsychological tests. We also conducted sensitivity and specificity analysis to establish the utility of this instrument in identifying potential cognitive dysfunctions in the two groups.ResultsResults demonstrated strong convergent validity as well as good specificity and sensitivity characteristics.DiscussionThis tool is a valid and useful instrument to assess cognitive functioning and detecting potential cases of cognitive dysfunctions in older adults and clinical populations.

Background As the world population continues to age, the prevalence of neurological diseases, such as dementia, poses a significant challenge to society. Detecting cognitive impairment at an early stage is vital in preserving and enhancing cognitive function. Digital tools, particularly mHealth, offer a practical solution for large-scale population screening and prompt follow-up assessments of cognitive function, thus overcoming economic and time limitations. Objective In this work, two versions of a digital solution called Guttmann Cognitest ® were tested. Methods Two hundred and one middle-aged adults used the first version (Group A), while 132 used the second one, which included improved tutorials and practice screens (Group B). This second version was also validated in an older age group (Group C). Results This digital solution was found to be highly satisfactory in terms of usability and feasibility, with good acceptability among all three groups. Specifically for Group B, the system usability scale score obtained classifies the solution as the best imaginable in terms of usability. Conclusions Guttmann Cognitest ® has been shown to be effective and well-perceived, with a high potential for sustained engagement in tracking changes in cognitive function.

Abstract Background Robotic lower-limb exoskeletons have the potential to provide additional clinical benefits for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, high variability between protocols does not allow the comparison of study results on safety and feasibility between different exoskeletons. We therefore incorporated key aspects from previous studies into our study protocol and accordingly conducted a multicentre study investigating the safety, feasibility and usability of the ABLE Exoskeleton in clinical settings. Methods In this prospective pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study across two SCI centres in Germany and Spain, in- and outpatients with SCI were recruited into a 12-session training and assessment protocol, utilising the ABLE Exoskeleton. A follow-up visit after 4 weeks was included to assess after-training outcomes. Safety outcomes (device-related adverse events (AEs), number of drop-outs), feasibility and usability measures (level of assistance, donning/doffing-time) were recorded at every session together with changes in gait parameters and function. Patient-reported outcome measures including the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and the psychosocial impact of the device were performed. Satisfaction with the device was evaluated in both participants and therapists. Results All 24 participants (45 ± 12 years), with mainly subacute SCI (

El presente artículo propone una reflexión teórico-metodológica desde la psicología social sobre los desafíos que implica el trabajo de investigación con población indígena, particularmente, con personas pertenecientes al pueblo Mapuche. Se enfatizan los desafíos éticos, teóricos y las tensiones metodológicas que emergen debido a las formas de producción de conocimiento hegemónicas de la psicología, las cuales se enmarcan dentro de lógicas poscoloniales, que privilegian la perspectiva occidental sobre la de los pueblos originarios y que, en su implementación, reproducen prácticas de dominación y racialización que tienen su origen en el pasado colonial. Finalmente, se propone una reflexión con miras a repensar las relaciones con los y las participantes y nuestras prácticas investigativas desde una perspectiva decolonial.

Este estudio tuvo por objetivo determinar si existen diferencias en el desempeño de la memoria de trabajo y representación espacial en niños y niñas mapuches rurales y no mapuche urbanos de la región de La Araucanía (Chile). Participaron 96 estudiantes entre 8 y 12 años (M = 10.33; DE = 1.02), quienes respondieron tareas de memoria de trabajo y de representación espacial en formato verbal y no verbal. Se utilizó un análisis multivariado de la covarianza (MANCOVA), controlando el efecto de la edad y el sexo. Los resultados evidencian que los participantes mapuche puntuaron más bajo que sus pares no mapuche en memoria de trabajo verbal, y se encontraron diferencias marginalmente significativas en memoria de trabajo no verbal. En la representación espacial verbal no se obtuvieron diferencias entre los grupos y en representación espacial no verbal los niños mapuches obtuvieron un desempeño significativamente más alto que sus pares no mapuche. Los niños no mapuche tienen un mayor desempeño en tareas verbales, mientras que niños mapuche obtienen desempeños similares o más altos en tareas no verbales. Se discute la relevancia de la validez ecológica desde el paradigma de la cognición situada.

PurposeThis study describes the development of a questionnaire for assessing the usability of assistive technologies accessible to people with neurological diseases.MethodsA Delphi study was conducted to identify relevant items for the questionnaire. After that, the content validity was addressed to identify the essential items. Once the questionnaire was designed following the results of the Delphi study and content validity, the reliability, validity, and the Rasch model of the questionnaire were examined.ResultsTwo rounds of the Delphi study were carried out. A total of 73 participants (42 experts and 31 users) participated in round 1, and 59 people (27 experts and 32 users) in round 2. A total of 53 and 29 items were identified in rounds 1 and 2, respectively. In the content validity, we found nine items above the threshold of 0.58. Finally, ten items were included in the questionnaire. Fifty-one participants participate in the reliability and validity of the questionnaire. The internal consistency reliability of the questionnaire analyzed by Cronbach's Alpha was α = 0,895. There was moderate to considerable concordance among our questionnaire items test-retest in the Kappa coefficient and a strong association between test-retest in the Spearman's coefficient ρ = 0.818 (pConclusionsThe present study suggested that the new questionnaire is a reliable 10-item usability questionnaire that allows subjective and quick assessment of the usability of assistive technologies by people with neurological diseases.

Thanks to technological advances, the administration of cognitive assessments via digital solutions continues to increase, both in research and clinical practice. “Guttmann Cognitest”°ledR is a digital solution for cognitive assessment which includes seven computerized tasks designed to assess main cognitive functions requiring approximately 20 min to be completed. The purpose of the present study was to validate it against standard and more extensive in-person neuropsychological assessments in the context of the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative (BBHI) cohort study. We studied 274 participants of the BBHI (126 women, mean age = 56.14, age range 44–69), who underwent an extensive in-person assessment, including a classical paper-and-pencil neuropsychological assessment and a cognitive assessment via the “Guttmann Cognitest”°ledR. Principal component analysis indicated that “Guttmann Cognitest”°ledR measures four main cognitive domains and convergent validity analysis demonstrated that cognitive performance was associated with gold standard paper and pencil tests. Results also showed an expected negative correlation with age, a relation with educational level as well as a gender effect. Regression-based norming equations for the sample tested are also reported. Performing a cognitive assessment with this digital solution is feasible and potentially useful to gather information about cognitive functioning in large samples and experimental settings.

Social media is a crucial communication tool (e.g., with 430 million monthly active users in online forums such as Reddit), being an objective of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. One of them (word embeddings) is based on the quotation, “You shall know a word by the company it keeps,” highlighting the importance of context in NLP. Meanwhile, “Context is everything in Emotion Research.” Therefore, we aimed to train a model (W2V) for generating word associations (also known as embeddings) using a popular Coronavirus Reddit forum, validate them using public evidence and apply them to the discovery of context for specific emotions previously reported as related to psychological resilience. We used Pushshiftr, quanteda, broom, wordVectors, and superheat R packages. We collected all 374,421 posts submitted by 104,351 users to Reddit/Coronavirus forum between January 2020 and July 2021. W2V identified 64 terms representing the context for seven positive emotions (gratitude, compassion, love, relief, hope, calm, and admiration) and 52 terms for seven negative emotions (anger, loneliness, boredom, fear, anxiety, confusion, sadness) all from valid experienced situations. We clustered them visually, highlighting contextual similarity. Although trained on a “small” dataset, W2V can be used for context discovery to expand on concepts such as psychological resilience.

Investigación cuyo objetivo fue analizar la noción de gestión administrativa para determinar su relación con la calidad educativa en la formación de estudiantes de la Unidad Educativa 20 de Octubre. En cuanto a la metodología el enfoque es cuantitativo con implicaciones cualitativas puesto que se llevaron a cabo observaciones, revisión documental y entrevistas a sujetos claves para fundamentar el recorrido investigativo. Los resultados promueven una toma de conciencia en torno a la necesidad de analizar qué es lo que conduce al individuo dentro de una organización a dejar de hacer las actividades relacionadas con la calidad o cuáles son las causas de dicha apatía hacia la calidad. Se concluye que para que la escuela sea una organización de calidad, las relaciones en su interior deben orientarse con una filosofía de servicio: hacer las cosas bien.

Abstract Introduction Even in nonpandemic times, persons with disabilities experience emotional and behavioral disturbances which are distressing for them and for their close persons. We aimed at comparing the levels of stress in emotional and behavioral aspects, before and during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19), as reported by informal family caregivers of individuals with chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI) or stroke living in the community, considering two different stratifications of the recipients of care (cause and injury severity). Methods We conducted a STROBE‐compliant prospective observational study analyzing informal caregivers of individuals with stroke (IC‐STROKE) or traumatic brain injury (IC‐TBI). IC‐STROKE and IC‐TBI were assessed in‐person before and during COVID‐19 online, using the Head Injury Behavior Scale (HIBS). The HIBS comprises behavioral and emotional subtotals (10 items each) and a total‐HIBS. Comparisons were performed using the McNemar's test, Wilcoxon signed‐rank test or t‐test. Recipients of care were stratified according to their injury severity using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). Results One hundred twenty‐two informal caregivers (62.3% IC‐STROKE and 37.7% IC‐TBI) were assessed online between June 2020 and April 2021 and compared to their own assessments performed in‐person 1.74 ± 0.88 years before the COVID‐19 lockdown. IC‐STROKE significantly increased their level of stress during COVID‐19 in five emotional items (impatience, frequent complaining, often disputes topics, mood change and overly sensitive) and in one behavioral item (overly dependent). IC‐TBI stress level only increased in one behavioral item (impulsivity). By injury severity, (i) mild (14.7%) showed no significant differences in emotional and behavioral either total‐HIBS (ii) moderate (28.7%) showed significant emotional differences in two items (frequent complaining and mood change) and (iii) severe (56.6%) showed significant differences in emotional (often disputes topics) and behavioral (impulsivity) items. Conclusions Our results suggest specific items in which informal caregivers could be supported considering cause or severity of the recipients of care.

BackgroundStroke is a worldwide cause of disability; 40% of stroke survivors sustain cognitive impairments, most of them following inpatient rehabilitation at specialized clinical centers. Web-based cognitive rehabilitation tasks are extensively used in clinical settings. The impact of task execution depends on the ratio between the skills of the treated patient and the challenges imposed by the task itself. Thus, treatment personalization requires a trade-off between patients’ skills and task difficulties, which is still an open issue. In this study, we propose Elo ratings to support clinicians in tasks assignations and representing patients’ skills to optimize rehabilitation outcomes. ObjectiveThis study aims to stratify patients with ischemic stroke at an early stage of rehabilitation into three levels according to their Elo rating; to show the relationships between the Elo rating levels, task difficulty levels, and rehabilitation outcomes; and to determine if the Elo rating obtained at early stages of rehabilitation is a significant predictor of rehabilitation outcomes. MethodsThe PlayerRatings R library was used to obtain the Elo rating for each patient. Working memory was assessed using the DIGITS subtest of the Barcelona test, and the Rey Auditory Verbal Memory Test (RAVLT) was used to assess verbal memory. Three subtests of RAVLT were used: RAVLT learning (RAVLT075), free-recall memory (RAVLT015), and recognition (RAVLT015R). Memory predictors were identified using forward stepwise selection to add covariates to the models, which were evaluated by assessing discrimination using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for logistic regressions and adjusted R2 for linear regressions. ResultsThree Elo levels (low, middle, and high) with the same number of patients (n=96) in each Elo group were obtained using the 50 initial task executions (from a total of 38,177) for N=288 adult patients consecutively admitted for inpatient rehabilitation in a clinical setting. The mid-Elo level showed the highest proportions of patients that improved in all four memory items: 56% (54/96) of them improved in DIGITS, 67% (64/96) in RAVLT075, 58% (56/96) in RAVLT015, and 53% (51/96) in RAVLT015R (P

We aimed to (1) apply cluster analysis techniques to mixed-type data (numerical and categorical) from baseline neuropsychological standard and widely used assessments of patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) (2) apply state-of-the-art cluster validity indexes (CVI) to assess their internal validity (3) study their external validity considering relevant aspects of ABI rehabilitation such as functional independence measure (FIM) in activities of daily life assessment (4) characterize the identified profiles by using demographic and clinically relevant variables and (5) extend the external validation of the obtained clusters to all cognitive rehabilitation tasks executed by the participants in a web-based cognitive rehabilitation platform (GNPT). We analyzed 1,107 patients with ABI, 58.1% traumatic brain injury (TBI), 21.8% stroke and 20.1% other ABIs (e.g., brain tumors, anoxia, infections) that have undergone inpatient GNPT cognitive rehabilitation from September 2008 to January 2021. We applied the k-prototypes algorithm from the clustMixType R package. We optimized seven CVIs and applied bootstrap resampling to assess clusters stability (fpc R package). Clusters' post hoc comparisons were performed using the Wilcoxon ranked test, paired t-test or Chi-square test when appropriate. We identified a three-clusters optimal solution, with strong stability (>0.85) and structure (e.g., Silhouette > 0.60, Gamma > 0.83), characterized by distinctive level of performance in all neuropsychological tests, demographics, FIM, response to GNPT tasks and tests normative data (e.g., the 3 min cut-off in Trail Making Test-B). Cluster 1 was characterized by severe cognitive impairment (N = 254, 22.9%) the mean age was 47 years, 68.5% patients with TBI and 22% with stroke. Cluster 2 was characterized by mild cognitive impairment (N = 376, 33.9%) mean age 54 years, 53.5% patients with stroke and 27% other ABI. Cluster 3, moderate cognitive impairment (N = 477, 43.2%) mean age 33 years, 83% patients with TBI and 14% other ABI. Post hoc analysis on cognitive FIM supported a significant higher performance of Cluster 2 vs. Cluster 3 (p < 0.001), Cluster 2 vs. Cluster 1 (p < 0.001) and Cluster 3 vs. Cluster 1 (p < 0.001). All patients executed 286,798 GNPT tasks, with performance significantly higher in Cluster 2 and 3 vs. Cluster 1 (p < 0.001).

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether introducing gamification in BCI rehabilitation of the upper limbs of post-stroke patients has a positive impact on their experience without altering their efficacy in creating motor mental images (MI).DesignA game was designed purposely adapted to the pace and goals of an established BCI-rehabilitation protocol. Rehabilitation was based on a double feedback: functional electrostimulation and animation of a virtual avatar of the patient’s limbs. The game introduced a narrative on top of this visual feedback with an external goal to achieve (protecting bits of cheese from a rat character). A pilot study was performed with 10 patients and a control group of six volunteers. Two rehabilitation sessions were done, each made up of one stage of calibration and two training stages, some stages with the game and others without. The accuracy of the classification computed was taken as a measure to compare the efficacy of MI. Users’ opinions were gathered through a questionnaire. No potentially identifiable human images or data are presented in this study.ResultsThe gamified rehabilitation presented in the pilot study does not impact on the efficacy of MI, but it improves users experience making it more fun.ConclusionThese preliminary results are encouraging to continue investigating how game narratives can be introduced in BCI rehabilitation to make it more gratifying and engaging.

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This paper shows two developed digital systems as an example of intelligent garage and maintenance that targets the applicability of augmented reality and wearable devices technologies to the maintenance of bus fleets. Both solutions are designed to improve the maintenance process based on verification of tasks checklist. The main contribution of the paper focuses on the implementation of the prototypes in the company’s facilities in an operational environment with real users and address the difficulties inherent in the transfer of a technology to a real work environment, such as a mechanical workshop. The experiments have been conducted in real operation thanks to the involvement of the public transport operator DBUS, which operates public transport buses in the city of Donostia—San Sebastian (Spain). Two solutions have been developed and compared against the traditional process: one based on Tablet and another one based on Microsoft HoloLens. The results show objective metrics (Key Performance Indicators, KPI) as well as subjective metrics based on questionnaires comparing the two technological approaches against the traditional one based on manual work and paper.

Plasticity is one of the most important physiological mechanisms underlying motor recovery from brain lesions. Rehabilitation methods, such as mirror visual feedback therapy, which are based on multisensory integration of motor, cognitive, and perceptual processes, are considered effective methods to induce cortical reorganization. The present study investigated 3 different types of visual feedback (direct, mirrored, and blocked visual feedback: DVF, MVF, and BVF, resp.) on M1 cortex excitability and intracortical inhibition/facilitation at rest and during phasic unimanual motor task in 11 healthy individuals. The excitability of the ipsilateral M1 cortex and the intracortical facilitation increased during motor task performance in the DVF and MVF but not in the BVF condition. In addition, MVF induced cortical disinhibition of the ipsilateral hemisphere to the index finger performing the motor task, which was greater when compared to the BVF and restricted to the homologue first dorsal interosseous muscle. The visual feedback is relevant to M1 cortex excitability modulation but the MVF plays a crucial role in promoting changes in intracortical inhibition in comparison to BVF. Altogether, it can be concluded that a combination of motor training with MVF therapy may induce more robust neuroplastic changes through multisensory integration that is relevant to motor rehabilitation.

Fundamento: con el uso indiscriminado de los antimicrobianos se incrementa la resistencia. La velocidad de adaptación de los microorganismos es mayor que la de obtención de nuevos antimicrobianos. Objetivo: aplicar y validar estrategias, políticas y protocolos dinámicos, que permitan un uso racional y adecuado de los antimicrobianos. Método: se elaboró un protocolo dinámico para el uso adecuado de antimicrobianos, estableciéndose rotaciones a partir del comportamiento de la resistencia de los microorganismos y los mapas microbiológicos trimestrales. Con datos recopilados, se evalúa el comportamiento de la resistencia y el consumo de antimicrobianos desde el 2007 al 2009 para validar el protocolo establecido. Resultados: el estudio no paramétrico no aporta resultados concluyentes respecto a los cambios que se buscan. Los clúster revelan tres patrones para los antimicrobianos estudiados. La penicilina y el ceftriaxona son los de mayor consumo y alcanzan en el 2009 el 100 % de resistencia. El análisis gráfico muestra que decrece el consumo al incrementarse la resistencia. Conclusiones: Con estos resultados se demuestra que ha sido efectiva la aplicación del protocolo dinámico durante el período de estudio en la sala de infecciones respiratorias y es recomendable su generalización centros asistenciales que puedan controlar las variables que aquí se estudian.

Here an inertial sensor-based monitoring system for measuring and analyzing upper limb movements is presented. The final goal is the integration of this motion-tracking device within a portable rehabilitation system for brain injury patients. A set of four inertial sensors mounted on a special garment worn by the patient provides the quaternions representing the patient upper limb’s orientation in space. A kinematic model is built to estimate 3D upper limb motion for accurate therapeutic evaluation. The human upper limb is represented as a kinematic chain of rigid bodies with three joints and six degrees of freedom. Validation of the system has been performed by co-registration of movements with a commercial optoelectronic tracking system. Successful results are shown that exhibit a high correlation among signals provided by both devices and obtained at the Institut Guttmann Neurorehabilitation Hospital.

Resumen El objetivo del presente trabajo es el de establecer una propuesta de cómo se ha caracterizado en la literatura especializada la relación que pueda existir entre la optimización del rendimiento deportivo y el mantenimiento del estado de salud del deportista. Para conseguir este objetivo se ha desarrollado una exhaustiva búsqueda de documentación bibliográfica que incluían las bases de datos más relevantes de nuestro campo: sportdiscus, pubmed, healthstar, medline, cesic-isoc, teseo, dited, psycinfo, ibecs, y networked digital library. De la combinatoria relacional producida, el número total de documentos encontrados ha sido de 791, reteniendo 115 para su posterior análisis. Los resultados han revelado que aspectos como el equilibrio articular y muscular, la prevención de lesiones, el dopaje y sus efectos nocivos, el control nutricional, dietético y ergogénico, y el control de la composición corporal, pueden ser, a priori, indicadores muy importantes de esta relación en deportistas activos. Por otro lado, indicadores como el proceso de desentrenamiento, la reinserción a la vida “normal”, o los planes de promoción para exdeportistas, pueden ser a priori, indicadores muy importantes de esta relación en deportistas ya retirados hace años. El análisis conjunto de estos indicadores podría ofrecer un importante dato sobre la relación que mantienen el rendimiento y la salud, tanto en la vida activa del deportista como una vez ya retirado. Palabras clave: rendimiento deportivo; salud; doping; desentrenamiento; prevención de lesiones; sociología; equilibrio artromuscular. Abstract The aim of this work is of establishing a proposal of how it has been characterized in the specializing literature the connection that could exist between the optimization of the sports performance and the maintenance of the athlete’s health condition. To achieve this aim it has developed an exhaustive search of bibliographical documentation which it was including the most relevant databases of our field: sportdiscus, pubmed, healthstar, medline, cesic-isoc, teseo, dited, psycinfo, ibecs, and networked digital library. Of the relational combinatorial analysis produced, the total number of documents found has been of 791, retaining 115 for their subsequent analysis. The results have revealed that aspects like the muscle and joint balance, the prevention of injuries, the doping and its harmful effects, the nutritional dietetic and ergogenic control, and the control of the corporal composition, can be, in a first moment, very important indicators of this relation in active athletes. On the other hand, indicators like the process of detraining, the rehabilitation to the ordinary life, or the plans of promotion for ex-athletes, can be a priori, very important indicators of this relation in athletes already retired years ago. The joint analysis of these indicators might offer important information on the connection that the performance and the health keep, as much in the athletes´ active life as once already retired. Key words: sports performance; health, doping; detraining; prevention of injuries; sociology; muscle and joint balance.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) translate oscillatory electroencephalogram (EEG) patterns into action. Different mental activities modulate spontaneous EEG rhythms in various ways. Non-stationarity and inherent variability of EEG signals, however, make reliable recognition of modulated EEG patterns challenging. Able-bodied individuals who use a BCI for the first time achieve - on average - binary classification performance of about 75%. Performance in users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage is typically lower. User training generally enhances reliability of EEG pattern generation and thus also robustness of pattern recognition. In this study, we investigated the impact of mental tasks on binary classification performance in BCI users with central nervous system (CNS) tissue damage such as persons with stroke or spinal cord injury (SCI). Motor imagery (MI), that is the kinesthetic imagination of movement (e.g. squeezing a rubber ball with the right hand), is the "gold standard" and mainly used to modulate EEG patterns. Based on our recent results in able-bodied users, we hypothesized that pair-wise combination of "brain-teaser" (e.g. mental subtraction and mental word association) and "dynamic imagery" (e.g. hand and feet MI) tasks significantly increases classification performance of induced EEG patterns in the selected end-user group. Within-day (How stable is the classification within a day?) and between-day (How well does a model trained on day one perform on unseen data of day two?) analysis of variability of mental task pair classification in nine individuals confirmed the hypothesis. We found that the use of the classical MI task pair hand vs. feed leads to significantly lower classification accuracy - in average up to 15% less - in most users with stroke or SCI. User-specific selection of task pairs was again essential to enhance performance. We expect that the gained evidence will significantly contribute to make imagery-based BCI technology become accessible to a larger population of users including individuals with special needs due to CNS damage.

Co-adaptive training paradigms for event-related desynchronization (ERD) based brain-computer interfaces (BCI) have proven effective for healthy users. As of yet, it is not clear whether co-adaptive training paradigms can also benefit users with severe motor impairment. The primary goal of our paper was to evaluate a novel cue-guided, co-adaptive BCI training paradigm with severely impaired volunteers. The co-adaptive BCI supports a non-control state, which is an important step toward intuitive, self-paced control. A secondary aim was to have the same participants operate a specifically designed self-paced BCI training paradigm based on the auto-calibrated classifier. The co-adaptive BCI analyzed the electroencephalogram from three bipolar derivations (C3, Cz, and C4) online, while the 22 end users alternately performed right hand movement imagery (MI), left hand MI and relax with eyes open (non-control state). After less than five minutes, the BCI auto-calibrated and proceeded to provide visual feedback for the MI task that could be classified better against the non-control state. The BCI continued to regularly recalibrate. In every calibration step, the system performed trial-based outlier rejection and trained a linear discriminant analysis classifier based on one auto-selected logarithmic band-power feature. In 24 minutes of training, the co-adaptive BCI worked significantly (p = 0.01) better than chance for 18 of 22 end users. The self-paced BCI training paradigm worked significantly (p = 0.01) better than chance in 11 of 20 end users. The presented co-adaptive BCI complements existing approaches in that it supports a non-control state, requires very little setup time, requires no BCI expert and works online based on only two electrodes. The preliminary results from the self-paced BCI paradigm compare favorably to previous studies and the collected data will allow to further improve self-paced BCI systems for disabled users.

Para confeccionar la presente revisión se utilizaron bases de datos disponibles en INFOMED, (PUDMED e HINARI;) utilizando los descriptores “epidemics models”, “epidemics contact patterns” y “epidemics spatio-temporal”. Se realizaron observaciones, entrevistas individuales y grupales con el personal de Epidemiología de la provincia de Camagüey y Ciudad Habana. Se destaca el hecho de que existe abundante bibliografía actualizada en las bases de datos de INFOMED, la cual muestra tendencia internacional al uso de herramientas matemáticas propias del enfoque de la complejidad. En el caso específico de la Epidemiología se aprecia en el mundo el uso de modelos matemáticos de avanzada, análisis cartográficos dinámicos y el establecimiento de patrones de contacto de las poblaciones, lo que pone en evidencia que la toma de decisiones se vale de métodos científicos de avanzada propios del enfoque de los sistemas complejos. Se concluye que urge el reconocimiento de la no linealidad de los procesos epidemiológicos, para que la calidad de la vigilancia epidemiológica se enriquezca con este tipo de análisis.

Fundamentación: En Cuba existe un excelente sistema de vigilancia, pero tiene que enfrentar el reto de constantes cambios demográficos y movimientos de poblaciones dentro y fuera del país, entre otros. Existe un eficiente sistema de alerta y respuesta contra la presentación de enfermedades, pero estos programas deben tener en cuenta el presupuesto para las actividades de la salud pública y la complejidad de la propagación; el uso de modelos matemáticos podría apoyar este esfuerzo. Objetivo: Caracterizar una serie de tiempo de enfermedades respiratorias agudas en la provincia de Camagüey y evaluarla con un método adecuado a su comportamiento. Métodos: Se utilizaron tasas de la serie de tiempo semanal de enfermedad respiratoria aguda reportada entre los años 2000 al 2007 de la provincia de Camagüey, Cuba. Para caracterizar estas series se utilizó el programa Matlab V-7,4-2006. La estacionaridad se evaluó con el método de autocorrelación simple, el comportamiento de linealidad se realizó con la prueba diseñada por Brock, Dechert y Scheinkma, con el método basado en la geometría espectral se determinó si la serie era estocástica o determinista. Se comparan los errores en las predicciones con los modelos ARMA y GARCH y se analizan los errores y las curvas de predicción. Resultados: Se demuestra el comportamiento no estacionario de la serie, basado en la función de autocorrelación simple. La prueba BDS indica que la serie estudiada es no lineal. La prueba de Geometría espectral concluye que la serie proviene de un sistema estocástico. En esta serie estacionaria, no lineal y estocástica resultó más adecuado el modelo GARCH que el ARMA, dado el menor error y más ajuste de la curva de predicción. Estos resultados demuestran la necesidad de clasificar las series de tiempo antes de ser analizadas, para proponer el modelo más adecuado. Conclusiones: La serie estudiada resultó ser no lineal, no estacionaria y estocástica y la predicción fue superior en este caso, con el modelo GARCH comparado con el ARMA.

Introducción: la enfermedad de Carrión es una enfermedad re-emergente en el Perú y presenta diversas complicaciones infecciosas y no infecciosas. Objetivo: Evaluar las complicaciones cardiovasculares (CC) en la fase aguda de la enfermedad. Métodos: Estudio observacional realizado en el Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia (HNCH) desde 1987-2007. Ingresaron pacientes adultos con el diagnóstico confirmado de Bartonelosis. Resultados: De los 68 pacientes incluidos 52 fueron masculinos y 16 femeninos, la edad media fue 25,7 años. Ninguno tuvo enfermedad cardiovascular previa. Los principales hallazgos clínicos fueron: fiebre (99%), hepatomegalia (79%), ictericia (74%), taquicardia (74%), taquipnea (71%), soplo sistólico (68%), disnea (62%), reflujo hepatoyugular (19%) e ingurgitación yugular (15%). 64 radiografías de tórax evaluadas mostraron: 44% cardiomegalia, 20% congestión pulmonar, y 16% derrame pleural. Ecocardiografía transtoráxica fue realizada en 42 pacientes: 38% efusión pericárdica, 19% dilatación auricular izquierda, y 17% dilatación del ventrículo izquierdo. Treinta y seis pacientes desarrollaron complicaciones cardiovasculares: insuficiencia cardiaca congestiva fue encontrada en 92%, pericarditis efusiva en 44%, edema agudo pulmón en 36%, shock cardiogénico en 17%, taponamiento pericárdico en 11% y miocarditis en 11%. Los pacientes que desarrollaron CC tuvieron menor tiempo de enfermedad (p=0,01), mayor estancia hospitalaria (p=0,014), usaron mas cloramfenicol (p=0,009) y menos ciprofloxacina (p=0,004), desarrollaron mas complicaciones infecciosas (p=0,002) y tuvieron mas admisiones a UCI (p=0,004), comparado con los pacientes que no tuvieron CC. Conclusión: las CC son frecuentes en la bartonelosis. Diversos síndromes cardiovasculares fueron observados, y se asociaron a menor tiempo de enfermedad, mayor estancia hospitalaria, mayor uso de cloramfenicol (Caf) y menor de ciprofloxacina (Cip), mayor frecuencia de complicaciones infecciosas y más admisiones a la UCI, pero no mayor mortalidad.

Para desplegar un análisis del tema del conocimiento en general y de sus formas de integración en particular se pudiera partir desde cualquier disciplina, teoría y enfoque. Sin embargo, c ada área del conocimiento tiene sus perspectivas epistemológicas emergentes propias, así como sus correspondientes implicaciones gnoseológicas, ideológicas y científico-metodológicas, de manera que desarrollar un estudio sobre la integración del saber presupone enfrentar el reto de transgredir las fronteras del objeto de estudio, sin menoscabar el papel jugado en la historia de la ciencia por cada una de las disciplinas modernas socialmente reconocidas. Todavía hoy paradójicamente existe un aislamiento no confeso (colegios o escuelas invisibles) entre las disciplinas. Este peculiar fenómeno genera la demanda de estudios que promuevan enfoques más integradores como los de la transdisciplinariedad. En consecuencia, el objetivo del presente trabajo consiste precisamente en sistematizar algunos fundamentos epistemológicos del enfoque de la transdisciplinariedadTo carry out an analysis of knowledge in general and of its integrative forms in particular, it could take any discipline, theory and focus as starting point. However, each area of knowledge has its own emergent epistemological perspectives, as well as its corresponding gnostic , ideological and scientific-methodological implications, so that to develop a study on the integration of knowledge presupposes to face the challenge of transgressing the frontiers of the study object, without impairing the role played in the history of science by each one of the socially known modern disciplines. Even today paradoxically there is a non-admitted isolation (schools or invisible schools) among disciplines. This peculiar phenomenon generates the demand of studies that promote more integrative approaches as those of the transdisciplinarity Consequently, the objective of this work is to systematize some epistemological foundations of the transdisciplinarity approach

Abstract Background The nosocomial acquisition of Candida albicans is a growing concern in intensive care units (ICUs) and understanding the route of contamination is relevant for infection control guidelines. Methods To analyze whether there is a specific ecology for any given hospital, we genotyped C. albicans isolates of the ICU of Versailles hospital (Hospital A) and compared the results with those previously obtained in another ICU in Henri Mondor hospital (Hospital B) using three polymorphic microsatellite markers (PMM). Results Among 36 patients with at least one positive culture for C. albicans, 26 had a specific multilocus genotype, two shared a common multilocus genotype, and 8 had the most common multilocus genotype found in the general population. The time interval between periods of hospitalization between patients with common genotypes differed by 13 to 78 days, thus supporting a lack of direct contamination. To confirm this hypothesis, the multilocus genotypic distributions of the three PMM were compared between the two hospitals. No statistically significant difference was observed. Multiple correspondences analysis did not indicate the association of a multilocus genotypic distribution with any given hospital. Conclusion The present epidemiological study supports the conclusions that each patient harbours his/her own isolate, and that nosocomial transmission is not common in any given ICU. This study also supports the usefulness and practicability of PMM for studying the epidemiology of C. albicans.

Abstract Infective endocarditis due to Bartonella bacilliformis is rare. A 64-year-old woman, without previous heart disease, presented with 6 weeks of fever, myalgias, and arthralgias. A systolic murmur was heard on the tricuspid area upon examination, and an echocardiogram showed endocardial lesions in the right atrium. Bartonella bacilliformis was isolated in blood cultures, defining the diagnosis of infective endocarditis using Duke’s criteria. Subsequently, the patient developed clinical and laboratory features compatible with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. This case presents an uncommon complication of B. bacilliformis infection associated with the development of systemic vasculitis.

Abstract: Introduction: Invasive aspergillosis is a serious disease, the lethality of which is important among hematology patients. Early diagnosis is crucial for treatment options and the prognosis. Detection of the antigen galactomannan is the most frequently used microbiological tools. But galactomannan detection may be falsely positive, and this false positivity has been associated with piperacillin-tazobactam treatment, the main antibiotic combination used in clinical hematology. Objective: The purpose of our study, carried out from January 2009 to December 2010 at the Versailles hospital on in-patients with hematological disorders, was to evaluate the association between false galactomannan positivity and administration of piperacillin-tazobactam, and to study a possible variability of products issued by three manufacturers. Patients and method: We noted that 207 patients were included (n =207), accounting for 69 false positive and 138 true negative results. The intrinsic galactomannan values in the study were sensitivity 100%, specificity 68%, positive and negative predictive values respectively 16%, 100%, and a likelihood positive and negative test at respectively 3.12, and 0. Results: The statistical analysis did not determine any association between false positivity in galactomannan and piperacillin-tazobactam issued by two manufacturers (P =0.87 and P =0.94). But, there was a significant association between false galactomannan positivity and piperacillin-tazobactam issued by the third manufacturer (P =0.02). Four of the 25 batches issued by this manufacturer were tested and negative “in vitro” for galactomannan. Discussion: This study results suggest that the association between false galactomannan positivity and piperacillin-tazobactam is not longer systematic, but can still prevail depending on the manufacturers. It also confirmed the positive contribution of testing piperacillin-tazobactam batches “in vitro” before using the antibiotic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: We aimed to describe patients with autoimmune diseases (AID) developing invasive fungal disease (IFD) and identify factors associated with short-term mortality., Methods: We analysed cases of IFD associated with AID from the surveillance network of invasive fungal diseases (Réseau de surveillance des infections fongiques invasives, RESSIF) registry of the French national reference centre for invasive mycoses. We studied association of AID-specific treatments with 30-day mortality. We analysed total lymphocyte and CD4-T cell counts in patients with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP)., Results: From 2012 to 2018, 549 individuals with IFD and AID were included, mainly with PCP (n=227, 41.3%), fungemia (n=167, 30.4%) and invasive aspergillosis (n=84, 15.5%). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) were the most frequent AID in PCP (n=55 and 25, respectively) and invasive aspergillosis (n=15 and 10, respectively), inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) were predominant in fungemia (n=36). At IFD diagnosis, 365 (66.5%) patients received glucocorticoids (GCs), 285 (51.9%) immunosuppressants, 42 (7.7%) tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α blockers, 75 (13.7%) other biologics. Mortality at 30 days was 28.1% (143/508). Fungemia and high-dose GCs were independently associated with higher 30-day mortality. In PCP patients, lymphopenia <1500/mm 3 was frequent (132/179, 73.7%) even if CD4+T cell count exceeded 200/mm 3 in 56/78 patients (71.8%) (median 472.5/mm 3 , IQR 160-858)., Conclusion: IFD associated with AID occurs primarily in RA, AAV and IBD, especially when treated with GCs and immunosuppressants. Mortality is high, especially for patients on high-dose GCs. Lymphopenia may help identify risk of PCP, but normal CD4+T cell count does not rule out the risk. Further studies are needed to assess the individual risk factors for IFD., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

The French National Reference Center for Invasive Mycoses and Antifungals leads an active and sustained nationwide surveillance program on probable and proven invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) to determine their epidemiology in France. Between 2012 and 2018, a total of 10,886 IFDs were recorded. The incidence increased slightly over time (2.16 to 2.36/10,000 hospitalization days, P  = 0.0562) in relation with an increase of fungemia incidence (1.03 to 1.19/10,000, P  = 0.0023), while that of other IFDs remained stable. The proportion of ≥65-year-old patients increased from 38.4% to 45.3% ( P  < 0.0001). Yeast fungemia ( n  = 5,444) was due mainly to Candida albicans (55.6%) with stable proportions of species over time. Echinocandins became the main drug prescribed (46.7% to 61.8%), but global mortality rate remained unchanged (36.3% at 1 month). Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia ( n  = 2,106) was diagnosed mostly in HIV-negative patients (80.7%) with a significantly higher mortality than in HIV-positive patients (21.9% versus 5.4% at 1 month, P  < 0.0001). Invasive aspergillosis ( n  = 1,661) and mucormycosis ( n  = 314) were diagnosed mostly in hematology (>60% of the cases) with a global mortality rate of 42.5% and 59.3%, respectively, at 3 months and significant changes in diagnosis procedure over time. More concurrent infections were also diagnosed over time (from 5.4% to 9.4% for mold IFDs, P  = 0.0115). In conclusion, we observed an aging of patients with IFD with a significant increase in incidence only for yeast fungemia, a trend toward more concurrent infections, which raises diagnostic and therapeutic issues. Overall, global survival associated with IFDs has not improved despite updated guidelines and new diagnostic tools. IMPORTANCE The epidemiology of invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) is hard to delineate given the difficulties in ascertaining the diagnosis that is often based on the confrontation of clinical and microbiological criteria. The present report underlines the interest of active surveillance involving mycologists and clinicians to describe the global incidence and that of the main IFDs. Globally, although the incidence of Pneumocystis pneumonia, invasive aspergillosis, and mucormycosis remained stable over the study period (2012 to 2018), that of yeast fungemia increased slightly. We also show here that IFDs seem to affect older people more frequently. The most worrisome observation is the lack of improvement in the global survival rate associated with IFDs despite the increasing use of more sensitive diagnostic tools, the availability of new antifungal drugs very active in clinical trials, and a still low/marginal rate of acquired in vitro resistance in France. Therefore, other tracks of improvement should be investigated actively.

Introduction: Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a well-known complication of acute respiratory distress syndrome, the most serious manifestation of COVID-19. Four recent studies have reported its incidence among ICU COVID-19 patients. However, they do not share the same case definition, and have provided conflicting results. In this paper we have aimed at reported the incidence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis for COVID-19 patients in our ICU, and at comparing the different definitions in order to assess their respective relevance., Methods: Retrospective cohort study of critically ill patients with severe COVID-19 requiring ICU management between 1st March and 30th April 2020., Results: Our results showed significantly lower incidence of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (1.8%;1/53), compared to three out of four previous studies, and wide variation in the numbers of cases with regard to the different definitions., Conclusion: Large-scale studies are needed for a better definition and a more accurate estimation of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis coinfection during COVID-19., (© 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)