The development of episodic future thinking in middle childhood

The ability to imagine future events (episodic future thinking-EFT) emerges in preschoolers and further improves during middle childhood and adolescence. In the present study, we focused on the possible cognitive factors that affect EFT and its development. We assessed the ability to mentally project forward in time of a large cohort of 135 6- to 11-year-old children through a task with minimal narrative demands (the Picture Book Trip task adapted from Atance and Meltzoff in Cogn Dev 20(3):341-361. doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2005.05.001, 2005) in order to avoid potential linguistic effects on children's performance. The results showed that this task can be used to assess the development of EFT at least until the age of 8. Furthermore, EFT scores correlated with measures of phonological short-term and verbal working memory. These results support the possibility that cognitive factors such as working memory play a key role in EFT.

Brief Report: Self-Based and Mechanical-Based Future Thinking in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

This brief report is a partial replication of the study by Jackson and Atance (J Dev Disabil 14:40-45, 2008) assessing nonverbal Self-based and Mechanical-based future thinking (FT) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In a first step, these tasks were administered to 30 children with ASD. The two Self-based tasks were then modified as a verbal component could not be completely ruled out. Consequently, 77 children with ASD and 77 children with typical development received the modified Self-based FT tasks and the Mechanical-based FT tasks. We partially replicated the previous findings. Participants with ASD had impaired FT in both kinds of tasks and both groups performed better on tasks assessing Mechanical-based FT than Self-based FT. These results suggest that impairments of FT in ASD are not limited to Self-Projection.

[Liver histopathological characteristics in patients with HCV-positive sera]

In order to have knowledge on the histopathologic characteristics of the HCV infections in our geographical area and its relation with some epidemiologic variables, a series of 54 biopsies of Anti HCV (R) patients was analyzed. The histologic lesions found in this study correspond mostly to patients with relatively early infections, on the contrary to other studies of the some kind. The most frequent histopathologic diagnosis were chronic hepatitis 38/54 (70.4%), steatosis 4/54 (7.4%) and 12/54 (22.2%) with no changes. The presence of lymphoid follicles in the portal tracts was the most frequent histological change in this series (66.7%), followed by the alteration in bile ducts (53.7%); they occurred in a significantly higher proportion in the biopsies which had a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis (p = 0.02) (p = 0.000002). The presence of steatosis and acidophilic bodies in the acinus were found in nearly one third of the biopsies. This findings suggest that the hepatic damage in the anti HCV reactive patients might take place through immunologic mechanisms and cytopathic direct action. It was not found that histologic changes produced by HCV might differ according to epidemiologic variables (post-transfusional, drug abuse i.v. and sporadic).

[Prevalence of hepatitis B virus markers in dentists in a rural community]

It carried out an epidemiology serum study in dentist of Lincoln with the object to know the prevalence of hepatitis B viral index and the influence of the professional and extra-professional. From the 12 integrants of the study, 3(25%) had any positive index. There are significant differences with a group of voluntary blood donars, its considered a danger group. There aren't any difference between dentist of rural and urban community. The prevalence is increased by: the oldness in the profession, the number of patients by month, the specialty, the absence of preservative measure, the age, the sex and the antecedent contact with hepatitis.

[Hypertensive cardiac damage in heart transplantation. A noninvasive monitoring study of arterial pressure]

This study is aimed at investigating the relationship between cardiac hypertrophy and blood pressure (BP) 24-h pattern in 34 heart transplanted patients (HTP), 9 out of them (26%) being considered as normotensives, the other ones (74%) being regarded as hypertensives under adequate treatment, via casual sphygmomanometry. The study is an attempt to explain the occurrence of at least one sign of hypertrophic cardiopathy in 20 cases (59%), hypothesizing the presence of false normotensives among the putative normotensives and presumably-cured hypertensives. The ambulatory BP monitoring was able to identify 7 hypertensives (78%) among the putative normotensives, and 17 not well-cured subjects (68%) among the presumably cured hypertensives. At least one sign of cardiac hypertrophy was found in 5 (50%) of the 10 true normotensives, who were all non-dipper, and in 15 (63%) of the 24 hypertensives. The 9 hypertensives without cardiac hypertrophy (37%) had developed hypertension very recently. These findings stress the role of the ambulatory BP monitoring as a diagnostic tool during the follow-up of HTP, in order to identify the false normotensives as well as the not well-treated hypertensives. This role can contribute to optimize the prophylaxis of hypertensive damage for the transplanted heart.

[Who are the "non-dippers": an insight from the ambulatory monitoring of arterial pressure in heart transplant patients]

This study was performed in order to define who are the "non-dippers", knowing that their present definition does not imply any explanation about the mechanisms. The investigation was performed on 34 heart transplanted patients, 28 males (mean age 52 +/- 11 years) and 6 women (mean age 35 +/- 14 years), knowing that the "non-dippers" were described as the hypertensives who are devoid of the expected nocturnal fall in blood pressure (BP). The "non-dipping" phenomenon was investigated by exploring the BP 24-h pattern via ambulatory non-invasive BP monitoring, and by applying the rhythmometric analysis for quantifying the BP circadian rhythm. The study provided evidence that the "non-dippers" can be found among the hypertensives as well as the normotensives, suggesting that high BP is not a necessary condition for the "non-dipping" phenomenon, and vice versa. Both the normotensive and hypertensive "non-dippers" were seen to show stereotypic changes in BP circadian rhythm. There are normotensive and hypertensive "non-dippers" with or without the BP circadian rhythm. The "rhythmic non-dippers" show a BP circadian rhythm which is inverted in phase or demodulated in amplitude. The "non-dippers" are, thus, a heterogeneous category.

[Minimal lesion hypertensive retinopathy and arterial pre-hypertension: evidence of arterial pressure monitoring in presumed normotensive subjects at zero risk]

The present study investigates the blood pressure (BP) 24 h pattern in 25 subjects who were found to show some incipient signs of hypertensive retinopathy, although they were diagnosed as normotensive by means of casual sphygmomanometry. BP was controlled by means of non invasive ambulatory monitoring. A comparable number of normotensive subjects without fundoscopic signs of hypertensive retinopathy was investigated as a control group. BP times series were analyzed by means of conventional and rhythmometric biometry. The biometric estimates suggest that the subjects with incipient hypertensive retinopathy show a significantly higher level of daily systolic BP even though their BP values remain below the reference limits. This finding suggests that the hypertensive retinopathy may exist in a non-zero stage characterizable as minimal change tensive retinopathy. This retinal picture occurs in subjects who show a pre-hypertensive stage in their BP 24 h pattern.

[Hepatitis B and C virus in chronic alcoholic patients: prevalence and influence on liver injury]

The aim of this prospectively designed study is to analyse the prevalence of HBV and HCV infections in 115 chronic alcohol abusers, their relation to epidemiological variables, and their meaning in pathogenesis and severity of alcoholic liver injury. A prevalence of 13.9% anti-HBc and 20.0% anti-HCV reactivity (EIA II) were found, significantly higher that found in blood donors (3.75 and 0.65% respectively). It is striking our finding of 69.6% "sporadic" type of HCV infection. Histological diagnostic of chronic hepatitis was done in 3 cases, all of them reactive to anti-HCV, enhancing the ethiologic role of HCV in the so called "alcoholic chronic hepatitis". No differences in histological final diagnosis were found related to HBV and HCV markers reactivity, suggesting no clear influence of viral infections on the severity of liver damage in alcoholics in our series. Neither anti-HCV positivity ratio seemed have to influence on these results. Despite a high prevalence of HBV and HCV infection in chronic alcohol abusers, our finding suggest no clear role for them in histological damage.

[Describing and interpreting systemic hypertension in heart transplantation with non-invasive arterial pressure monitoring]

This investigation was performed in 34 heart transplanted patients (HTP), 28 males and 6 females, mean age 49 +/- 13 years. The aim of the study was to detect hypertension in HTP by casual sphygmomanometry and non-invasive ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM). The evaluation of ABPM demonstrated that 71% out of the HTP was hypertensive because of some elevated blood pressure values scattered during the hours of the day and/or of the night. These hypertensives were found within the groups of normotensives as well as of hypertensives considered to be correctly treated. Fifty percent hypertensive HTP did not show the physiologic nocturnal decrease in blood pressure (non-dippers); 25% out of the non-dipper hypertensives showed absence of the blood pressure circadian rhythm, demonstrating that their hypertension was prevalently nocturnal and could not be detected by casual sphygmomanometry-The ABPM is recommended in clinical follow-up of HTP for a correct diagnosis of hypertension, which frequently complicates heart transplantation, and with the aim of avoiding hypertensive damage of the transplanted organ. The ABPM is useful for adjusting the antihypertensive therapy, in order to restore the blood pressure circadian rhythm.