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Aims We investigated the incidence, risk factors, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of pulmonary embolism (PE) in patients with COVID-19 attending emergency departments (EDs), before hospitalization. Methods and Results We retrospectively reviewed all COVID-19 patients diagnosed with PE in 62 Spanish EDs (20% of Spanish EDs, case group) during the first COVID-19 outbreak. COVID-19 patients without PE and non-COVID-19 patients with PE were included as control groups. Adjusted comparisons for baseline characteristics, acute episode characteristics, and outcomes were made between cases and randomly selected controls (1:1 ratio). We identified 368 PE in 74 814 patients with COVID-19 attending EDs (4.92‰). The standardized incidence of PE in the COVID-19 population resulted in 310 per 100 000 person-years, significantly higher than that observed in the non-COVID-19 population [35 per 100 000 person-years; odds ratio (OR) 8.95 for PE in the COVID-19 population, 95% confidence interval (CI) 8.51–9.41]. Several characteristics in COVID-19 patients were independently associated with PE, the strongest being D-dimer >1000 ng/mL, and chest pain (direct association) and chronic heart failure (inverse association). COVID-19 patients with PE differed from non-COVID-19 patients with PE in 16 characteristics, most directly related to COVID-19 infection; remarkably, D-dimer >1000 ng/mL, leg swelling/pain, and PE risk factors were significantly less present. PE in COVID-19 patients affected smaller pulmonary arteries than in non-COVID-19 patients, although right ventricular dysfunction was similar in both groups. In-hospital mortality in cases (16.0%) was similar to COVID-19 patients without PE (16.6%; OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.65–1.42; and 11.4% in a subgroup of COVID-19 patients with PE ruled out by scanner, OR 1.48, 95% CI 0.97–2.27), but higher than in non-COVID-19 patients with PE (6.5%; OR 2.74, 95% CI 1.66–4.51). Adjustment for differences in baseline and acute episode characteristics and sensitivity analysis reported very similar associations. Conclusions PE in COVID-19 patients at ED presentation is unusual (about 0.5%), but incidence is approximately ninefold higher than in the general (non-COVID-19) population. Moreover, risk factors and leg symptoms are less frequent, D-dimer increase is lower and emboli involve smaller pulmonary arteries. While PE probably does not increase the mortality of COVID-19 patients, mortality is higher in COVID-19 than in non-COVID-19 patients with PE.

Adding attention-awareness to an Augmented Reality setting by using a Brain-Computer Interface promises many interesting new applications and improved usability. The possibly complicated setup and relatively long training period of EEG-based BCIs however, reduce this positive effect immensely. In this study, we aim at finding solutions for person-independent, training-free BCI integration into AR to classify internally and externally directed attention. We assessed several different classifier settings on a dataset of 14 participants consisting of simultaneously recorded EEG and eye tracking data. For this, we compared the classification accuracies of a linear algorithm, a non-linear algorithm, and a neural net that were trained on a specifically generated feature set, as well as a shallow neural net for raw EEG data. With a real-time system in mind, we also tested different window lengths of the data aiming at the best payoff between short window length and high classification accuracy. Our results showed that the shallow neural net based on 4-second raw EEG data windows was best suited for real-time person-independent classification. The accuracy for the binary classification of internal and external attention periods reached up to 88% accuracy with a model that was trained on a set of selected participants. On average, the person-independent classification rate reached 60%. Overall, the high individual differences could be seen in the results. In the future, further datasets are necessary to compare these results before optimizing a real-time person-independent attention classifier for AR.

• Several cardiovascular/hemostatic disturbances haves been reported in patients with COVID-19, but the real frequency and their potential association with the pathogenic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-19 still remain to be defined. • We investigated the relative frequency of acute coronary syndrome, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke and upper gastrointestinal bleeding in COVID patents attending emergency departments (EDs), before hospitalization and compared them with frequencies in the general ED population attending 50 Spanish EDs. • We found that the risk of pulmonary embolism is clearly increased in COVID patients, with an OR of 4.53 with respect to non-COVID patients (95% confidence interval 4.03- 5.10). Additionally, the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was 2 fold more frequent among ED comers in 2020 compared to 2019, suggesting a SARS-CoV-2 role in such increment of cases.. The remaining entities studied were not found to be unequivocally increased in the present study and need further investigation.

Eye behavior is increasingly used as an indicator of internal versus external focus of attention both in research and application. However, available findings are partly inconsistent, which might be attributed to the different nature of the employed types of internal and external cognition tasks. The present study, therefore, investigated how consistently different eye parameters respond to internal versus external attentional focus across three task modalities: numerical, verbal, and visuo-spatial. Three eye parameters robustly differentiated between internal and external attentional focus across all tasks. Blinks, pupil diameter variance, and fixation disparity variance were consistently increased during internally directed attention. We also observed substantial attentional focus effects on other parameters (pupil diameter, fixation disparity, saccades, and microsaccades), but they were moderated by task type. Single-trial analysis of our data using machine learning techniques further confirmed our results: Classifying the focus of attention by means of eye tracking works well across participants, but generalizing across tasks proves to be challenging. Based on the effects of task type on eye parameters, we discuss what eye parameters are best suited as indicators of internal versus external attentional focus in different settings.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the incidence, risk factors, clinical characteristics and outcomes of acute pancreatitis (AP) in patients with COVID-19 attending the emergency department (ED), before hospitalization. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all COVID patients diagnosed with AP in 62 Spanish EDs (20% of Spanish EDs, COVID-AP) during the COVID outbreak. We formed two control groups: COVID patients without AP (COVID-non-AP) and non-COVID patients with AP (non-COVID-AP). Unadjusted comparisons between cases and controls were performed regarding 59 baseline and clinical characteristics and 4 outcomes. RESULTS: We identified 54 AP in 74,814 patients with COVID-19 attending the ED (frequency=0.72‰, 95%CI=0.54-0.94‰). This frequency was lower than in non-COVID patients (2,231/1,388,879, 1.61‰, 95%CI=1.54-1.67; OR=0.44, 95%CI=0.34-0.58). Etiology of AP was similar in both groups, being biliary origin in about 50%. Twenty-six clinical characteristics of COVID patients were associated with a higher risk of developing AP: abdominal pain (OR=59.4, 95%CI=23.7-149), raised blood amylase (OR=31.8; 95%CI=1.60-632) and vomiting (OR=15.8, 95%CI=6.69-37.2) being the strongest, and some inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, platelets, D-dimer) were more increased. Compared to non-COVID-AP, COVID-AP patients differed in 23 variables; the strongest ones related to COVID symptoms, but less abdominal pain was reported, pancreatic enzymes raise was lower, and severity (estimated by BISAP and SOFA score at ED arrival) was higher. The in-hospital mortality (adjusted for age and sex) of COVID-AP did not differ from COVID-non-AP (OR=1.12, 95%CI=0.45-245) but was higher than non-COVID-AP (OR=2.46, 95%CI=1.35-4.48). CONCLUSIONS: Acute pancreatitis as presenting form of COVID-19 in the ED is unusual (

We investigated the incidence, clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcome of meningoencephalitis (ME) in patients with COVID-19 attending emergency departments (ED), before hospitalization. We retrospectively reviewed all COVID patients diagnosed with ME in 61 Spanish EDs (20% of Spanish EDs, COVID-ME) during the COVID pandemic. We formed two control groups: non-COVID patients with ME (non-COVID-ME) and COVID patients without ME (COVID-non-ME). Unadjusted comparisons between cases and controls were performed regarding 57 baseline and clinical characteristics and 4 outcomes. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biochemical and serologic findings of COVID-ME and non-COVID-ME were also investigated. We identified 29 ME in 71,904 patients with COVID-19 attending EDs (0.40 parts per thousand, 95%CI=0.27-0.58). This incidence was higher than that observed in non-COVID patients (150/1,358,134, 0.11 parts per thousand, 95%CI=0.09-0.13; OR=3.65, 95%CI=2.45-5.44). With respect to non-COVID-ME, COVID-ME more frequently had dyspnea and chest X-ray abnormalities, and neck stiffness was less frequent (OR=0.3, 95%CI=0.1-0.9). In 69.0% of COVID-ME, CSF cells were predominantly lymphocytes, and SARS-CoV-2 antigen was detected by RT-PCR in 1 patient. The clinical characteristics associated with a higher risk of presenting ME in COVID patients were vomiting (OR=3.7, 95%CI=1.4-10.2), headache (OR=24.7, 95%CI=10.2-60.1), and altered mental status (OR=12.9, 95%CI=6.6-25.0). COVID-ME patients had a higher in-hospital mortality than non-COVID-ME patients (OR=2.26; 95%CI=1.04-4.48), and a higher need for hospitalization (OR=8.02; 95%CI=1.19-66.7) and intensive care admission (OR=5.89; 95%CI=3.12-11.14) than COVID-non-ME patients. ME is an unusual form of COVID presentation (

Is the oncogene MYC upregulated or hyperactive? In the majority of human cancers, finding agents that target c-MYC has proved difficult. Here we report specific bacterial effector molecules that inhibit cellular MYC (c-MYC) in human cells. We show that uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) degrade the c-MYC protein and attenuate MYC expression in both human cells and animal tissues. c-MYC protein was rapidly degraded by both cell-free bacterial lysates and the purified bacterial protease Lon. In mice, intravesical or peroral delivery of Lon protease delayed tumor progression and increased survival in MYC-dependent bladder and colon cancer models, respectively. These results suggest that bacteria have evolved strategies to control c-MYC tissue levels in the host and that the Lon protease shows promise for therapeutic targeting of c-MYC in cancer.

Understanding stem cell regulatory circuits is the next challenge in plant biology, as these cells are essential for tissue growth and organ regeneration in response to stress. In the Arabidopsis primary root apex, stem cell-specific transcription factors BRAVO and WOX5 co-localize in the quiescent centre (QC) cells, where they commonly repress cell division so that these cells can act as a reservoir to replenish surrounding stem cells, yet their molecular connection remains unknown. Genetic and biochemical analysis indicates that BRAVO and WOX5 form a transcription factor complex that modulates gene expression in the QC cells to preserve overall root growth and architecture. Furthermore, by using mathematical modelling we establish that BRAVO uses the WOX5/BRAVO complex to promote WOX5 activity in the stem cells. Our results unveil the importance of transcriptional regulatory circuits in plant stem cell development., A.I.C-D. is a recipient of a BIO2016-78955 grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and a European Research Council, ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2015-CoG – 683163). I.B-P. is funded by the FPU15/02822 grant from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport; N.B. by the FI-DGR 2016FI_B 00472 grant from the AGAUR, Generalitat de Catalunya; and A.P-R. by the SEV-2015-0533 from the Severo Ochoa Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D. M.I. and J.M. acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER (EU) through grant FIS2015-66503-C3-3-P, from Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades / Agencia Estatal de Investigación / Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, Unión Europea through grant PGC2018-101896-B-I00 and from the Generalitat de Catalunya through Grup de Recerca Consolidat 2014 SGR 878 and 2017 SGR 1061. J.M. is funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education through BES-2016-078218. Y.S. and R.C.D. were funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgesellschaft (DFG) (grant STA12/12 1-1). A.I.C.-D.–A.C. collaboration was funded by the European Regional Development Funds and Marie Curie IRSES Project DEANN (PIRSES-GA-2013-612583). CRAG is funded by “Severo Ochoa Programme” from Centers of Excellence in R&D 2016-2019 (SEV-2015-485 0533).

Objetivo: Describir las características demográficas y de comorbilidad de los pacientes con COVID-19 fallecidos en hospitales españoles durante el brote pandémico de 2020 y compararlas según si ingresaron o no en una unidad de cuidados intensivos (UCI) antes del fallecimiento. Métodos: Análisis secundario de los pacientes de la cohorte SIESTA (formada por pacientes COVID de 62 hospitales españoles) fallecidos durante la hospitalización. Se recogió su características demográficas y comorbilidades, individuales y globalmente estimada mediante el índice de Charlson (IC). Se identificaron los factores independientes relacionados con ingreso en UCI, y se realizaron diversos análisis de sensibilidad para contrastar la consistencia de los hallazgos del análisis principal. Resultados: Se incluyeron los 338 pacientes de la cohorte SIESTA fallecidos; de ellos, 77 (22.8%) accedieron a una UCI previamente al fallecimiento. En el análisis multivariable, 3 de las 20 características basales analizadas se asociaron independientemente con ingreso en UCI de los pacientes fallecidos: demencia (no hubo pacientes fallecidos con demencia que ingresasen en UCI; OR=0, IC95%=no calculable), cáncer activo (OR=0,07, IC95%=0,02-0,21) y edad (2 puntos: OR=0,09, 95%CI=0,04-0,23). Los análisis de sensibilidad no mostraron diferencias destacables respecto al análisis principal. Conclusiones: El perfil de los pacientes COVID fallecidos sin ingresar en UCI se ajustó a lo observado en la práctica médica habitual antes de la pandemia, y las características basales que limitaron su ingreso fueron la edad y la carga de comorbilidad global, especialmente la demencia y el cáncer activo.

Background and importance A higher incidence of venous thromboembolism [both pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis (DVT)] in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been described. But little is known about the true frequency of DVT in patients who attend emergency department (ED) and are diagnosed with COVID-19. Objective We investigated the incidence, risk factors, clinical characteristics and outcomes of DVT in patients with COVID-19 attending the ED before hospitalization. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all COVID patients diagnosed with DVT in 62 Spanish EDs (20% of Spanish EDs, case group) during the first 2 months of the COVID-19 outbreak. We compared DVT-COVID-19 patients with COVID-19 without DVT patients (control group). Relative frequencies of DVT were estimated in COVID and non-COVID patients visiting the ED and annual standardized incidences were estimated for both populations. Sixty-three patient characteristics and four outcomes were compared between cases and controls. Results We identified 112 DVT in 74 814 patients with COVID-19 attending the ED [1.50 parts per thousand; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.23-1.80 parts per thousand]. This relative frequency was similar than that observed in non-COVID patients [2109/1 388 879; 1.52 parts per thousand; 95% CI, 1.45-1.69 parts per thousand; odds ratio (OR) = 0.98 [0.82-1.19]. Standardized incidence of DVT was higher in COVID patients (98,38 versus 42,93/100,000/year; OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 2.03-2.38). In COVID patients, the clinical characteristics associated with a higher risk of presenting DVT were older age and having a history of venous thromboembolism, recent surgery/immobilization and hypertension; chest pain and desaturation at ED arrival and some analytical disturbances were also more frequently seen, d-dimer >5000 ng/mL being the strongest. After adjustment for age and sex, hospitalization, ICU admission and prolonged hospitalization were more frequent in cases than controls, whereas mortality was similar (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 0.77-2.45). Conclusions DVT was an unusual form of COVID presentation in COVID patients but was associated with a worse prognosis.

We developed an attention-sensitive system that is capable of playing the children's guessing game "I spy with my litte eye" with a human user. In this game, the user selects an object from a given scene and provides the system with a single-sentence clue about it. For each trial, the system tries to guess the target object. Our approach combines top-down and bottom-up machine learning for object and color detection, automatic speech recognition, natural language processing, a semantic database, eye tracking, and augmented reality. Our evaluation demonstrates performance significantly above chance level, and results for most of the individual machine learning components are encouraging. Participants reported very high levels of satisfaction and curiosity about the system. The collected data shows that our guessing game generates a complex and rich data set. We discuss the capabilities and challenges of our system and its components with respect to multimodal attention sensing.

Roughly 50 million people worldwide are currently suffering from dementia. This number is expected to triple by 2050. Dementia is characterized by a loss of cognitive function and changes in behaviour. This includes memory, language skills, and the ability to focus and pay attention. However, it has been shown that secondary therapy such as the physical, social and cognitive activation of People with Dementia (PwD) has significant positive effects. Activation impacts cognitive functioning and can help prevent the magnification of apathy, boredom, depression, and loneliness associated with dementia. Furthermore, activation can lead to higher perceived quality of life. We follow Cohen's argument that activation stimuli have to produce engagement to take effect and adopt his definition of engagement as "the act of being occupied or involved with an external stimulus".

Detecting, modeling, and making sense of multimodal data from human users in the wild still poses numerous challenges. Starting from aspects of data quality and reliability of our measurement instruments, the multidisciplinary endeavor of developing intelligent adaptive systems in human-computer or human-robot interaction (HCI, HRI) requires a broad range of expertise and more integrative efforts to make such systems reliable, engaging, and user-friendly. At the same time, the spectrum of applications for machine learning and modeling of multimodal data in the wild keeps expanding. From the classroom to the robot-assisted operation theatre, our workshop aims to support a vibrant exchange about current trends and methods in the field of modeling multimodal data in the wild.

In the project I-CARE a technical system for tablet devices is developed that captures the personal needs and skills of people with dementia. The system provides activation content such as music videos, biographical photographs and quizzes on various topics of interest to people with dementia, their families and professional caregivers. To adapt the system, the activation content is adjusted to the daily condition of individual users. For this purpose, emotions are automatically detected through facial expressions, motion, and voice. The daily interactions of the users with the tablet devices are documented in log files which can be merged into an event list. In this paper, we propose an advanced format for event lists and a data analysis strategy. A transformation scheme is developed in order to obtain datasets with features and time series for popular methods of data mining. The proposed methods are applied to analysing the interactions of people with dementia with the I-CARE tablet device. We show how the new format of event lists and the innovative transformation scheme can be used to compress the stored data, to identify groups of users, and to model changes of user behaviour. As the I-CARE user studies are still ongoing, simulated benchmark log files are applied to illustrate the data mining strategy. We discuss possible solutions to challenges that appear in the context of I-CARE and that are relevant to a broad range of applications.

Developments in social robotics raise the prospect of robots coaching and interacting with patient during rehabilitation training assuming a role of a trainer. This raises questions regarding the acceptance of robots in this role and more specifically, to what extent the robot should be anthropomorphic. This paper presents the results of an online experiment designed to evaluate the user acceptance of Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) as rehabilitation trainers, and the effect of anthropomorphism on this matter. User attitudes were surveyed with regards to variations of the robot’s anthropomorphism as a rehabilitation trainer. The results show that 1) participants are accepting towards SAR-assisted rehabilitation therapies, 2) higher anthropomorphism is generally preferred but does not affect patient’s acceptance towards such therapy and technology. Qualitative data brings insight to patient technology acceptance, needs for rehabilitation training and the effect of anthropomorphism.

Despite SARS-CoV-19 infection has a stereotypical clinical picture, isolated cases with unusual manifestations have been reported, some of them being well-known to be triggered by viral infections. However, the real frequency in COVID-19 is unknown. Analysing data of 63 822 COVID patients attending 50 Spanish emergency department (ED) during the COVID outbreak, before hospitalisation, we report frequencies of (myo)pericarditis (0.71‰), meningoencephalitis (0.25‰), Guillain–Barré syndrome (0.13‰), acute pancreatitis (0.71‰) and spontaneous pneumothorax (0.57‰). Compared with general ED population, COVID patients developed more frequently Guillain–Barré syndrome (odds ratio (OR) 4.55, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.09–9.90), spontaneous pneumothorax (OR 1.98, 95% CI 1.40–2.79) and (myo)pericarditis (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.07–1.97), but less frequently pancreatitis (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.33–0.60).

Human Computer Interaction (HCI) performance can be impaired by several HCI obstacles. Cognitive adaptive systems should dynamically detect such obstacles and compensate them with suitable User Interface (UI) adaptation. In this paper, we discuss the detection of two main HCI obstacles: memory-based and visual obstacles. A sequential model based on Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) is suggested for such a detection of HCI obstacles. UI adaptations for both types of obstacles are discussed and analyzed. We investigate the classification performance on data from a user study with 17 participants. Furthermore, we also investigate the influence of different adaptation mechanisms on performance and subjective assessment. Results show advantages of the proposed sequential LSTM model: on the one hand, the LSTM outperforms the baseline random guess and also a baseline static model LDA in the detection of visual obstacles with 70.6% as an average accuracy. On the other hand, the evaluation of HCI sessions impeded by obstacles but supported with different UI adaptations shows that LSTM results well match the subjective assessment as a plausible detector of behaviour changes.

Sin financiación 1.755 JCR (2017) Q4, 28/33 Critical Care Medicine UEC

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroid hormones that are essential for plant growth and development. These hormones control the division, elongation and differentiation of various cell types throughout the entire plant life cycle. Our current understanding of the BR signaling pathway has mostly been obtained from studies using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model. In this context, the membrane steroid receptor BRI1 (BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE 1) binds directly to the BR ligand, triggering a signal cascade in the cytoplasm that leads to the transcription of BR-responsive genes that drive cellular growth. However, recent studies of the primary root have revealed distinct BR signaling pathways in different cell types and have highlighted cell-specific roles for BR signaling in controlling adaptation to stress. In this Review, we summarize our current knowledge of the spatiotemporal control of BR action in plant growth and development, focusing on BR functions in primary root development and growth, in stem cell self-renewal and death, and in plant adaption to environmental stress., A.P.-R. is recipient of a PhD fellowship from the “Severo Ochoa Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D” 2016-2019 from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SEV-2015-0533). A.G. is a recipient of a post-doctoral fellowship from the “Severo Ochoa Programme for Centers of Excellence in R&D” 2016-2019 from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (SEV-2015-0533). I.B.-P. is funded by a grant from the Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (FPU15/02822). N.B. is funded by a grant from the Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, Generalitat de Catalunya (FI-DGR 2016FI_B 00472). M.I. acknowledges support from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) and FEDER (European Regional Development Fund of the European Union) (FIS2015-66503-C3-3-P) and from the Generalitat de Catalunya through Grup de Recerca Consolidat (2017 SGR 1061). A.I.C.-D. is recipient of a grant from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (BIO2013-43873) and of an ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC-2015-CoG – 683163).

Diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation can benefit from various signal processing approaches employed on atrial electrograms. However, the performance and interpretation of these approaches get highly degraded by far-field ventricular activities (VAs) that distort the morphology of the pure atrial activities (AAs). In this study, we aim to remove VAs from the recorded unipolar electrogram while preserving the AA components. To do so, we have developed a framework which first removes the VA-containing segments and interpolates the remaining samples. This will also partly remove the atrial components that overlap with VA signals, e.g., during atrial fibrillation. To reconstruct the AA components, we estimate them from the removed VA-containing segments based on a low-rank and sparse matrix decomposition and add them back to the electrograms. The presented framework is of rather low complexity, preserves AA components, and requires only a single EGM recording. Instrumental comparison to template matching and subtraction and independent component analysis shows that the proposed approach leads to smoother results with better similarity to the true atrial signal.

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We conducted a cross-sectional study in the Hospital Universitario de Canarias (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) measuring 22 inorganic elements in amniotic fluid (AF) samples obtained from 65 pregnant women. ICP-MS was used for quantification of inorganic elements. Newborn parameters at delivery were all within the normal range. Concentrations of all elements were detected in measurable amounts in AF. The concentration of elements was similar to those reported in the literature. The concentrations of the most dangerous heavy metals – Cd, Cr, Ni, Hg and Pb – were lower than those reported by other authors. This study demonstrates that toxic inorganic elements pass into and accumulate in AF. The presence of such pollutants in contact with developing embryos from the intrauterine period could exert adverse health effects that deserve future investigations.

In many research areas, such as the material sciences, researchers plan and conduct numerous experiments. The corresponding findings are published, while the underlying data remains described haphazardly or not at all within the respective institutes and, therefore, is neither shared nor reused by the scientific community.

Root analysis is essential for both academic and agricultural research. Despite the great advances in root phenotyping and imaging however, calculating root length is still performed manually and involves considerable amounts of labor and time. To overcome these limitations, we have developed MyROOT, a novel software for the semi-automatic quantification of root growth of seedlings growing directly in agar plates. Our method automatically determines the scale from the image of the plate, and subsequently measures the root length of the individual plants. To this aim, MyROOT combines a bottom-up root tracking approach with a hypocotyl detection algorithm. At the same time as providing accurate root measurements, MyROOT also significantly minimizes the user intervention required during the process. Using Arabidopsis, we tested MyROOT with seedlings from different growth stages. Upon comparing the data obtained using this software with that of manual root measurements, we found that there are no significant differences (t-test, p-value < 0.05). Thus, MyROOT will be of great aid to the plant science community by permitting high-throughput root length measurements while saving on both labor and time.

A memory-based interaction obstacle is a condition which impedes human memory during Human-Computer Interaction, for example a memory-loading secondary task. In this paper, we present an approach to detect the presence of such memory-based interaction obstacles from logged user behavior during system use. For this purpose, we use a recurrent neural network which models the resulting temporal sequences. To acquire a sufficient number of training episodes, we employ a cognitive user simulation. We evaluate the approach with data from a user test and on which we outperform a non-sequential baseline by up to 42% relative.

Asymptomatic bacterial colonization of the urinary bladder (asymptomatic bacteriuria, ABU) can prevent bladder colonization by uropathogens and thus symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI). Deliberate bladder colonization with Escherichia coli ABU isolate 83972 has been shown to outcompete uropathogens and prevent symptomatic UTI by bacterial interference. Many ABU isolates evolved from uropathogenic ancestors and, although attenuated, may still be able to express virulence-associated factors. Our aim was to screen for efficient and safe candidate strains that could be used as alternatives to E. coli 83972 for preventive and therapeutic bladder colonization. To identify ABU E. coli strains with minimal virulence potential but maximal interference efficiency, we compared nine ABU isolates from diabetic patients regarding their virulence- and fitness-associated phenotypes in vitro, their virulence in a murine model of sepsis and their genome content. We identified strains in competitive growth experiments, which successfully interfere with colonization of ABU isolate 83972 or uropathogenic E. coli strain 536. Six isolates were able to outcompete E. coli 83972 and two of them also outcompeted UPEC 536 during growth in urine. Superior competitiveness was not simply a result of better growth abilities in urine, but seems also to involve expression of antagonistic factors. Competitiveness in urine did not correlate with the prevalence of determinants coding for adhesins, iron uptake, toxins, and antagonistic factors. Three ABU strains (isolates 61, 106, and 123) with superior competitiveness relative to ABU model strain 83972 display low in vivo virulence in a murine sepsis model, and susceptibility to antibiotics. They belong to different phylogroups and differ in the presence of ExPEC virulence- and fitness-associated genes. Importantly, they all lack marked cytotoxic activity and exhibit a high LD50 value in the sepsis model. These strains represent promising candidates for a more detailed assessment of relevant fitness traits in urine and their suitability for therapeutic bladder colonization.

As in many other research areas the material sciences produce vast amounts of experimental data. The corresponding findings are then published, albeit the data remains in heterogeneous formats within institutes and is neither shared nor reused by the scientific community. To address this issue we have developed and deployed a scientific data management environment for the material sciences at various test facilities. Unlike other systems this one explicitly models every facet of the experiment and the materials used therein - thereby supporting the initial design of the experiment, its execution and the ensuing results. Consequently, the collection of the structured data becomes an integral part of the research workflow rather than a post hoc nuisance. In this paper we report on an empirical study that was performed to test the effects of a paradigm change in the data model to align it better with the actual scientific practice at hand.

Sin financiación 1.982 JCR (2018) Q3, 24/33 Critical Care Medicine 0.334 SJR (2018) Q2, 44/91 Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine No data IDR 2018 UEC

Introduction: Cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome is a clinical disorder that has become more prevalent with increasing use of cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids, and which is difficult to treat. Standard antiemetics commonly fail to alleviate the severe nausea and vomiting characteristic of the syndrome. Curiously, cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome patients often report dramatic relief of symptoms with hot showers and baths, and topical capsaicin. Objectives: In this review, we detail the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of capsaicin and explore possible mechanisms for its beneficial effect, including activation of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 and neurohumoral regulation. Putative mechanisms responsible for the benefit of hot water hydrotherapy are also investigated. Methods: An extensive search of PubMed, OpenGrey, and Google Scholar from inception to April 2017 was performed to identify known and theoretical thermoregulatory mechanisms associated with the endocannabinoid system. The searches resulted in 2417 articles. These articles were screened for relevant mechanisms behind capsaicin and heat activation having potential antiemetic effects. References from the selected articles were also hand-searched. A total of 137 articles were considered relevant and included. Capsaicin: Topical capsaicin is primarily used for treatment of neuropathic pain, but it has also been used successfully in some 20 cases of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of capsaicin as a transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 agonist may explain this effect. Topical capsaicin has a longer half-life than oral administration, thus its potential duration of benefit is longer. Capsaicin and transient receptor potential vanilloid 1: Topical capsaicin binds and activates the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 receptor, triggering influx of calcium and sodium, as well as release of inflammatory neuropeptides leading to transient burning, stinging, and itching. This elicits a novel type of desensitization analgesia. Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 receptors also respond to noxious stimuli, such as heat (>43 °C), acids (pH

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the evolution of the citation of articles from the European Journal of Emergency Medicine (EJEM) from 1994 (EJEM foundation) to 2015 and identify highly cited articles and their principal characteristics and determine a possible correlation between the citations counted in different databases. Materials and methods We obtained the articles published in EJEM from 1994 to 2015 in ISI-WoS (main source) and Scopus, Google Scholar, and Medline databases (accessory sources). The citations were quantified and their annual evolution and the bibliometric indices derived (impact factor and SCImago Journal Rank) were evaluated. We identified and analyzed the highly cited EJEM articles and evaluated the possible correlation between the citations counted for these articles in the databases. Results Overall, 1705 EJEM articles were cited 9422 times in 8122 different articles. The evolution of the global citation, impact factor, and SCImago Journal Rank from 1994 to 2015 increased significantly. The h-index of EJEM was 30, and 31 articles were considered highly cited (≥30 citations), 16.1% of them being clinical trials. By subjects, 22.5% corresponded to cardiology, 19.3% to emergency department management, and 12.9% to pediatrics; by countries, 81% were from Europe, with Belgian authors publishing four (12.9%) highly cited articles, and French, Spanish, British, and Swedish authors having three (9.7%) each. Two studies in the EJEM achieved the definition of 'citation classics' (more than 100 citations). The number of citations in all the databases, except Medline, showed statistically significant correlations. Conclusion Citation of EJEM articles has progressively increased and EJEM bibliometric indicators have improved; most highly cited articles are mainly by European authors.

RESUMEN Fundamentos: Existen pocos estudios epidemiologicos, sobre todo de tipo multicentrico, sobre las intoxicaciones agudas a causa de productos quimicos agroindustriales y del hogar en Espana. El objetivo de este trabajo fue describir el perfil epidemiologico y clinico de estas intoxicaciones en nuestro pais, y analizar su evolucion temporal. Metodos: El Sistema Espanol de Toxicovigilancia (SETv) es un registro prospectivo que incluye a 32 Servicios de Urgencias y Unidades de Cuidados intensivos de Espana. Se realizo un estudio descriptivo observacional de las intoxicaciones agudas por agentes quimicos (excluyendo drogas y farmacos) en sus primeros 15 anos de funcionamiento (1999-2014). Las comparaciones de proporciones se realizaron mediante las pruebas de Chi-cuadrado o exacta de Fisher, y entre pares de grupos independientes con la prueba de Mann-Whitney. Se consideraron significativos los valores de probabilidad menores de 0,05. Resultados: Los 10.548 casos estudiados presentaban una edad media de 38,41 (±22,07) anos, siendo significativamente superior en las mujeres (p=0,0001). El 67,7% de las intoxicaciones ocurrieron en el hogar, y las vias de entrada mas frecuentes fueron la respiratoria (48,3%), la digestiva (35,3%) y la ocular (13,1%). Los grupos toxicos mas frecuentes fueron los gases toxicos (31%), los causticos (25,6%) y los gases irritantes (12,1%). Un 76,2% de los casos requirieron tratamiento (27,2% con antidotos). Ingreso en un centro hospitalario un 20,6% de las personas, con una estancia media de 32 (±151,94) dias, con diferencias significativas para los plaguicidas y disolventes (p=0,02). Presentaron secuelas al alta un 2,1%. La mortalidad fue del 1,4% (146 pacientes), con una edad media de 62,08 anos (±19,58; p=0,0001). Conclusiones: En las intoxicaciones por productos quimicos, las medidas preventivas deben centrarse fundamentalmente en el ambito domestico, controlando las fuentes de exposicion al monoxido de carbono y la manipulacion de los productos de limpieza, fundamentalmente los liquidos causticos y la generacion de gases irritantes al mezclarlos.

Purpose: Morphine has been used for several decades in cases of acute pulmonary edema (APE) due to the anxiolytic and vasodilatory properties of the drug. The non-specific depression of the central nervous system is probably the most significant factor for the changes in hemodynamics in APE. Retrospective studies have shown both negative and neutral effects in patients with APE and therefore some authors have suggested benzodiazepines as an alternative treatment. The use of intravenous morphine in the treatment of APE remains controversial. Methods: The MIdazolan versus MOrphine in APE trial (MIMO) is a multicenter, prospective, open-label, randomized study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of morphine in patients with APE. The MIMO trial will evaluate as a primary endpoint whether intravenous morphine administration improves clinical outcomes defined as in-hospital mortality. Secondary endpoint evaluation will be mechanical ventilation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, intensive care unit admission rate, intensive care unit length of stay, and hospitalization length. Conclusions: In the emergency department, morphine is still used for APE in spite of poor scientific background data. The data from the MIMO trial will establish the effect—and especially the risk—when using morphine for APE. Sin financiación 2.771 JCR (2017) Q2, 56/128 Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems, 111/261 Pharmacology and Pharmacy UEC

Presentamos casos sobre posibles tratamientos efectivos para tratar los síntomas del Sindrome de Hiperemsis por cannabis: el haloperidol y la pomada de capsaicina. Sin financiación 2.021 JCR (2017) Q3, 20/35 Substance Abuse, 14/19 Substance Abuse UEC

Sin financiación 1.755 JCR (2017) Q4, 28/33 Critical Care Medicine UEC

Sin financiación 1.168 JCR (2017) Q3, 94/154 Medicine, General and Internal UEC

For any HCI system, it would be a great advantage if it was aware of the attentional state of its user: Is he or she paying attention to external stimuli provided by the user's environment or is the user focusing his or her attention on internal mental tasks? In this paper, we propose a model for the discrimination of internal and external attention by using Electroencephalography. We describe the experiment we conducted to collect data of internal and external attention, describe our setup for classification and discuss the classifications results.

Spielen von alten Menschen, auch mit demenziellen Erkrankungen, ist bisher nicht substanziell untersucht. Die vorliegende Studie befasst sich mit der Akzeptanz und der Wirkung eines technikbasierten Memory-Spiels, das Besucher von Tagespflegeeinrichtungen ein- bis zweimal wochentlich spielten. Im Rahmen von Fokusgruppen wurde das technische System an die alteren Nutzer angepasst. Die videogestutzten Daten auf der Ebene des Spiels und seiner Dynamik wurden hinsichtlich Interaktion und Kommunikation untersucht. Die Analyse der psychologischen Beobachtungsbogen und Spielprotokolle, die uber einen Zeitraum von 3 Monaten gefuhrt wurde, zeigt unterschiedliche Effekte des Spiels auf die psychosoziale und kognitive Aktivierung. Insbesondere weist sie auf die hohe Bedeutsamkeit individualisierter Memory-Motive hin, die der Intensivierung von Kommunikation und der Belebung des episodischen Gedachtnisses dienen. Schlieslich konnten mit einer videogestutzten Verhaltensbeobachtung drei theoretische Zusammenhangmuster der Spharen Sprache und Spiel abgebildet werden. Koharenz, Trennung sowie Inkoharenz von Sprache und Spiel kennzeichnen unterschiedliche Interaktionsmoglichkeiten, in denen sich individuelle und auch gemeinschaftliche Kompetenzen von Demenzkranken sichtbar machen lassen. Die Studie liefert zudem Belege fur die kulturelle Spieltheorie von Huizinga.

Attachment to the host mucosa is a key step in bacterial pathogenesis. On the apical surface of epithelial cells, members of the human carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) family are abundant glycoproteins involved in cell-cell adhesion and modulation of cell signaling. Interestingly, several gram-negative bacterial pathogens target these receptors by specialized adhesins. The prototype of a CEACAM-binding pathogen, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, utilizes colony opacity associated (Opa) proteins to engage CEA, as well as the CEA-related cell adhesion molecules CEACAM1 and CEACAM6 on human epithelial cells. By heterologous expression of neisserial Opa proteins in non-pathogenic E. coli we find that the Opa protein-CEA interaction is sufficient to alter gene expression, to increase integrin activity and to promote matrix adhesion of infected cervical carcinoma cells and immortalized vaginal epithelial cells in vitro. These CEA-triggered events translate in suppression of exfoliation and improved colonization of the urogenital tract by Opa protein-expressing E. coli in CEA-transgenic compared to wildtype mice. Interestingly, uropathogenic E. coli expressing an unrelated CEACAM-binding protein of the Afa/Dr adhesin family recapitulate the in vitro and in vivo phenotype. In contrast, an isogenic strain lacking the CEACAM-binding adhesin shows reduced colonization and does not suppress epithelial exfoliation. These results demonstrate that engagement of human CEACAMs by distinct bacterial adhesins is sufficient to blunt exfoliation and to promote host infection. Our findings provide novel insight into mucosal colonization by a common UPEC pathotype and help to explain why human CEACAMs are a preferred epithelial target structure for diverse gram-negative bacteria to establish a foothold on the human mucosa., Author Summary Mucous surfaces are a hallmark of the nasal cavity and the throat as well as the intestinal and urogenital tracts. These surfaces serve as primary entry portals for a large number of pathogenic bacteria. To get a foothold on the mucosa, bacteria not only need to tightly attach to this tissue, but also need to overcome an intrinsic defence mechanism called exfoliation. During the exfoliation process, the outermost cell layer, together with attached bacteria, is released from the tissue surface reducing the microbial burden. A comprehensive understanding of the molecular strategies, which bacteria utilize to undermine this host defence, is currently lacking. Our results suggest that different bacterial pathogens have found a surprisingly similar answer to this problem by targeting a common set of proteins on the tissue surface. Accordingly, these bacteria express unrelated proteins that engage the same host receptors called CEA-related cell adhesion molecules (CEACAMs). Binding of microbes to CEACAMs triggers, via intracellular signaling pathways, an increased stickiness of the infected cells. Thereby, the pathogens suppress the release of superficial host cells from the tissue and effectively block exfoliation. Detailed mechanistic insight into this process and the ability to manipulate exfoliation might help to prevent or treat bacterial infections.

Brassinosteroid (BR) hormones are important regulators of plant growth and development. Recent studies revealed the cell-specific role of BRs in vascular and stem cell development by the action of cell-specific BR receptor complexes and downstream signaling components in Arabidopsis thaliana. Despite the importance of spatiotemporal regulation of hormone signaling in the control of plant vascular development, the mechanisms that confer cellular specificity to BR receptors within the vascular cells are not yet understood. The present work shows that BRI1-like receptor genes 1 and 3 (BRL1 and BRL3) are differently regulated by BRs. By using promoter deletion constructs of BRL1 and BRL3 fused to GFP/GUS (green fluorescent protein/β-glucuronidase) reporters in Arabidopsis, analysis of their cell-specific expression and regulation by BRs in the root apex has been carried out. We found that BRL3 expression is finely modulated by BRs in different root cell types, whereas the location of BRL1 appears to be independent of this hormone. Physiological and genetic analysis show a BR-dependent expression of BRL3 in the root meristem. In particular, BRL3 expression requires active BES1, a central transcriptional effector within the BRI1 pathway. ChIP analysis showed that BES1 directly binds to the BRRE present in the BRL3 promoter region, modulating its transcription in different subsets of cells of the root apex. Overall our study reveals the existence of a cell-specific negative feedback loop from BRI1-mediated BES1 transcription factor to BRL3 in phloem cells, while contributing to a general understanding of the spatial control of steroid signaling in plant development., RL was funded by the FWF Erwin Schrödinger Stipendum from Austria (J 3019-B16), and JES-H was supported by the Department of Innovation, Universities and Enterprise of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the European Social Fund FI Fellowship (AGAUR: FI-2006, Resolució EDU/3600/2006; FI-2008, Resolució IUE/2658/2007, and BE-DGR2010) in the Laboratory of AC-D. We acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the ‘Severo Ochoa Programme for Centres of Excellence in R&D’ 2016–2019 (SEV‐2015‐0533). AIC-D is a recipient of a BIO2013-43873 grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness an European Research Council, ERC Consolidator Grant (ERC-2015-CoG – 683163).

Sin financiación 1.125 JCR (2016) Q3, 91/155 Medicine, General & Internal UEC

The retrieval of motor memory requires a previous memory encoding and subsequent consolidation of the specific motor memory. Previous work showed that motor memory seems to rely on different memory components (e.g., implicit, explicit). However, it is still unknown if explicit components contribute to the retrieval of motor memories formed by dynamic adaptation tasks and which neural correlates are linked to memory retrieval. We investigated the lower and higher gamma bands of subjects' electroencephalography during encoding and retrieval of a dynamic adaptation task. A total of 24 subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment and control group. Both groups adapted to a force field A on day 1 and were re-exposed to the same force field A on day 3 of the experiment. On day 2, treatment group learned an interfering force field B whereas control group had a day rest. Kinematic analyses showed that control group improved their initial motor performance from day 1 to day 3 but treatment group did not. This behavioral result coincided with an increased higher gamma band power in the electrodes over prefrontal areas on the initial trials of day 3 for control but not treatment group. Intriguingly, this effect vanished with the subsequent re-adaptation on day 3. We suggest that improved re-test performance in a dynamic motor adaptation task is contributed by explicit memory and that gamma bands in the electrodes over the prefrontal cortex are linked to these explicit components. Furthermore, we suggest that the contribution of explicit memory vanishes with the subsequent re-adaptation while task automaticity increases.

According to a previous study, 17% of patients who attended an emergency department (ED) following cocaine use returned to the same ED over the next year for a problem related to drug use. This previous study proposed a scale (Multicenter Assessment of the Revisit Risk In the Emergency Department (MARRIED)-cocaine score) to quantify the risk of ED revisit. The aim of the present study was to validate this scale by analysing a new set of patients attending for cocaine use in nine Spanish EDs.We performed a retrospective, multicentre, cohort study with consecutive patient inclusion, and without an intervention or control group. During 12 months (January-December 2010) we collected data from patients attending the ED after cocaine use. The MARRIED-cocaine score, ranging from 0 to 400 points, was calculated for each patient. The dependent variable was the identification of further visits associated with drug consumption to the same ED. Further analysis was performed to define risk categories.The study included 933 patients, with a mean follow-up of 466 (SD 189) days, and 185 patients returned to the same ED for problems related to drug consumption. The cumulative probability of ED revisit was 4.2%, 8.3%, 16.8% and 21.2% at 1 month, 3 months, 12 months and 24 months, respectively. The area under the curve receiver operating characteristic for the MARRIED-cocaine scale was 0.69 (p0.001). Four categories for ED revisit risk were defined: low risk (0-40 points, n=416), moderate risk (41-100 points, n=235), high risk (101-210 points, n=71) and very high risk (210-400 points, n=211), with HRs for ED revisit (with respect to the low-risk group) of 1.82 (95% CI 1.18 to 2.80, p=0.007), 2.65 (95% CI 1.50 to 4.66, p=0.001) and 5.06 (95% CI 3.49 to 7.35, p0.001), respectively.The MARRIED-cocaine score has a moderate discriminative capacity to predict revisit among patients who attend the ED for cocaine drug-related emergencies, and allows classification of patients according to the risk of ED revisit.

Se ha observado un aumento del consumo de sustancias vegetales con efecto alucinógeno, algunas de ellas asociadas a ceremonias religiosas ancestrales, siendo muchas de estas sustancias legales o con una regulación parcial. Salvia divinorum es un potente agonista de los receptores kappa, con propiedades disociativas y alucinógenas, de inicio rápido y corta duración. El Kratom (Mytragyna speciosa), posee como alcaloide principal la mitraginina, con efectos estimulantes a dosis bajas (efecto coca-like), y efectos sedativos (efecto opioide-like) a dosis altas. Se han detectado varias muertes asociadas a su consumo. El consumo de hongos alucinógenos aparece de forma cíclica, aunque se ha incrementado su oferta on-line. Se consumen buscando sus efectos alucinógenos sobre todo los pertenecientes a la familia de los psilocybes, los cuales contienen triptaminas con efecto alucinógeno, similar al LSD. El peyote (Lophophora williamsii), cactus rico en mescalina (trimetoxifeniletilamina), produce alucinaciones de los cinco sentidos, y forma parte de la cultura religiosa de los indios norteamericanos. Las daturas, de gran ubicuidad, producen un cuadro anticolinérgico y efectos sobre el sistema nervioso central (delirios, alucinaciones, etc), por su alto contenido en atropina y escopolamina. Otras sustancia utilizadas por sus efectos alucinatorios incluyen la bebida conocida como ayahuasca, y semillas para preparación de infusiones como el Ololiuqui, la Gloria de la mañana (Ipomoea violacea), la Rosa de Hawai (Argyreia nervosa), la Ruda borde (Peganum harmala), y la Iboga (Tabernanthe iboga). An increase in the consumption of vegetable substances with a hallucinogenic effect has been observed. Some of these substances are associated with ancestral religious ceremonies, while many of them are legal or are partially regulated. Salvia divinorum is a powerful kappa receptor agonist, with dissociative and hallucinogenic properties, which start quickly and have a short duration. Kratom (Mytragyna speciosa) has mitragynine as its principal alkaloid, with stimulating effects at low doses (coke-like effect), and sedative effects (opiate-like effect) at high doses. Several deaths from its consumption have been detected. The consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms appears in cyclic form, although there has been increase in their online offer. They are consumed in search of their hallucinogenic effects, above all those belonging to the family of psilocybes, which contain tryptamines with a hallucinogenic effect similar to LSD. Peyote (Lophophora psilocybes), a cactus rich in mescaline (trimetoxifeniletilamina), produces hallucinations of the five senses, and forms part of the religious culture of the North American Indians. Daturas, which are ubiquitous, produce anticholinergic symptoms and effects on the central nervous system (delirium, hallucinations, etc.), due to their high atropine and scopolamine content. Other substances used for their hallucinogenic effects include the drink known as ayahuasca, and seeds for preparing infusions like Ololiuqui, Morning Glory (Ipomoea violacea), Hawaian Baby Woodrose (Argyreia nervosa), Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala) and Iboga Rootbark (Tabernanthe iboga). Sin financiación 0.557 JCR (2013) Q4, 153/162 Public, environmental and occupational health UEC

Resumen del póster presentado al Congreso 'At the Forefront of Plant Research', celebrado en Barcelona (España) del 6 al 8 de mayo de 2019., Root analysis is essential for both academic and agricultural research. Despite the great advances in root phenotyping and imaging, calculating root length is still performed manually and involves considerable amounts of labor and time. To overcome these limitations, we have developed MyROOT, a software for the semi-automatic quantification of root growth of seedlings growing directly in agar plates. Our method automatically determines the scale from the image of the plate, and subsequently measures the root length of the individual plants. To this aim, MyROOT combines a bottom-up root tracking approach with a hypocotyl detection algorithm. At the same time as providing accurate root measurements, MyROOT also significantly minimizes the user intervention required during the process. Using Arabidopsis, we tested MyROOT with seedlings from different growth stages and experimental conditions. Upon comparing the data obtained using this software with that of manual root measurements, we found a high correlation between both methods (R2 = 0.997). When compared to previous developed softwares with similar features (BRAT and EZ-Rhizo), MyROOT offers an improved accuracy in root length measurements. Thus, MyROOT will be of great aid to the plant science community by permitting high-throughput root length measurements while saving on both labor and time.