The Role of Unexpected Events in the Emergence of Explicit Knowledge in an Implicit Learning Situation

In an implicit learning task like the serial reaction time task, most people demonstrate implicit knowledge about the underlying regularity. Usually, a small group of persons can be found which notices this regularity and is also able to report it. Whether the acquired representation can be used in a flexible and diverse way crucially depends on conscious awareness of this knowledge. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand which mechanisms realize the transition from implicit to explicit knowledge. Research on this issue has led to two main theoretical streams. On the one hand, the most parsimonious account assumes that unconscious representations gain quality through practice and therefore gradually transform into explicit knowledge (single-system account; e.g. Cleeremans & Jiménez, 2002). On the other hand, there are more complex models which assume that implicit and explicit representations are supported by separable learning- and memory systems (multiple-systems account). One of these models is the Unexpected Event Hypothesis (Frensch et al., 2003). Within this model, it is proposed that implicit learning leads to behavioral changes which contradict the expectations of a person about their own behavior in the given situation. This violation of expectations triggers an attributional process which should bring expectation and experience back into coherence; a sudden insight into the underlying rule can be the result. The three studies presented here are aimed at testing the predictions of the Unexpected Event Hypothesis and contrast these with the more parsimonious predictions of a single system account. Therefore, in all three studies, different manipulations will induce unexpected events in an implicit learning situation. At the same time, all tasks are designed in a way to match the associative strength of the representations between the manipulations

Development of New Measurements and Tools to Mitigate Fescue Toxicosis in Beef Cattle

The objective of this study was to identify new ways to determine the severity of fescue toxicosis and identify genetic differences in fescue impacted traits as a basis in understanding how cattle could be selected for tolerance to fescue toxicosis. We identified across breed and within breed differences in heat stress related traits and growth rate in pregnant cows exposed to toxic fescue. In addition, new biomarkers were identified to differentiate susceptible and tolerant cattle in the form of specific fecal and vaginal microbes. Finally, we identified differentially expressed (DE) genes in high versus low tolerant cattle on toxic fescue. These findings may allow more accurate diagnosis of fescue toxicosis and provide a glimpse into the genes and microorganisms that may impact tolerance or susceptibility to toxic fescue

Diet quality in late midlife is associated with faster walking speed in later life in women, but not men

Healthy diet has been linked to better age-related physical functioning, but evidence on the relationship of overall diet quality in late midlife and clinically relevant measures of physical functioning in later life is limited. Research on potential sex differences in this relationship is scarce. The aim was to investigate the prospective association between overall diet quality, as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index-2015 at age 60-64y and measures of walking speed seven years later, among men and women from the Insight46, a neuroscience sub-study of the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development. Diet was assessed at age 60-64y using five-day food diaries, from which total HEI-2015 was calculated. At age 69-71y, walking speed was estimated during four 10-meter walks at self-selected pace, using inertial measurement units. Multivariable linear regression models with sex as modifier, controlling for age, follow-up, lifestyle, health, social variables and physical performance were used. The final sample was 164 women and 167 men (n=331). Women had higher HEI-2015 scores and slower walking speed than men. A 10 point increase in HEI-2015 was associated with faster walking speed seven years later among women (B: 0.024, 95% CI: 0.006, 0.043), but not men. The association remained significant in the multivariable model (B: 0.021, 95% CI: 0.003, 0.040). In women in late midlife higher diet quality is associated with faster walking speed. A healthy diet in late midlife is likely to contribute towards better age-related physical capability and sex differences are likely to affect this relationship

Infection routes matter in population-specific responses of the red flour beetle to the entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis

Background: Pathogens can infect their hosts through different routes. For studying the consequences for host resistance, we here used the entomopathogen Bacillus thuringiensis and the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum for oral and systemic (i. e. pricking the cuticle) experimental infection. In order to characterize the molecular mechanisms underpinning the two different infection routes, the transcriptomes of beetles of two different T. castaneum populations – one recently collected population (Cro1) and a commonly used laboratory strain (SB) – were analyzed using a next generation RNA sequencing approach. Results: The genetically more diverse population Cro1 showed a significantly larger number of differentially expressed genes. While both populations exhibited similar reactions to pricking, their expression patterns in response to oral infection differed remarkably. In particular, the Cro1 population showed a strong response of cuticular proteins and developmental genes, which might indicate an adaptive developmental flexibility that was lost in the SB population presumably as a result of inbreeding. The immune response of SB was primarily based on antimicrobial peptides, while Cro1 relied on responses mediated by phenoloxidase and reactive oxygen species, which may explain the higher resistance of this strain against oral infection. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that immunological and physiological processes underpinning the two different routes of infection are clearly distinct, and that host populations particularly differ in responses to oral infection. Furthermore, gene expression upon pricking infection entailed a strong signal of wounding, highlighting the importance of pricking controls in future infection studies

ER stress transcription factor Xbp1 suppresses intestinal tumorigenesis and directs intestinal stem cells

Unresolved endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in the epithelium can provoke intestinal inflammation. Hypomorphic variants of ER stress response mediators, such as X-box–binding protein 1 (XBP1), confer genetic risk for inflammatory bowel disease. We report here that hypomorphic Xbp1 function instructs a multilayered regenerative response in the intestinal epithelium. This is characterized by intestinal stem cell (ISC) expansion as shown by an inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (Ire1α)–mediated increase in Lgr5+ and Olfm4+ ISCs and a Stat3-dependent increase in the proliferative output of transit-amplifying cells. These consequences of hypomorphic Xbp1 function are associated with an increased propensity to develop colitis-associated and spontaneous adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)–related tumors of the intestinal epithelium, which in the latter case is shown to be dependent on Ire1α. This study reveals an unexpected role for Xbp1 in suppressing tumor formation through restraint of a pathway that involves an Ire1α- and Stat3-mediated regenerative response of the epithelium as a consequence of ER stress. As such, Xbp1 in the intestinal epithelium not only regulates local inflammation but at the same time also determines the propensity of the epithelium to develop tumors

HPV16 Seropositivity and Subsequent HPV16 Infection Risk in a Naturally Infected Population: Comparison of Serological Assays

Background: Several serological assays have been developed to detect antibodies elicited against infections with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16. The association between antibody levels measured by various assays and subsequent HPV infection risk may differ. We compared HPV16-specific antibody levels previously measured by a virus-like particle (VLP)-based direct enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) with levels measured by additional assays and evaluated the protection against HPV16 infection conferred at different levels of the assays. Methodology/Principal Findings Replicate enrollment serum aliquots from 388 unvaccinated women in the control arm of the Costa Rica HPV vaccine trial were measured for HPV16 seropositivity using three serological assays: a VLP-based direct ELISA; a VLP-based competitive Luminex immunoassay (cLIA); and a secreted alkaline phosphatase protein neutralization assay (SEAP-NA). We assessed the association of assay seropositivity and risk of subsequent HPV16 infection over four years of follow-up by calculating sampling-adjusted odds ratios (OR) and HPV16 seropositivity based on standard cutoff from the cLIA was significantly associated with protection from subsequent HPV16 infection (OR = 0.48, CI = 0.27–0.86, compared with seronegatives). Compared with seronegatives, the highest seropositive tertile antibody levels from the direct ELISA (OR = 0.53, CI = 0.28–0.90) as well as the SEAP-NA (OR = 0.20, CI = 0.06, 0.64) were also significantly associated with protection from HPV16 infection. Conclusions/Significance: Enrollment HPV16 seropositivity by any of the three serological assays evaluated was associated with protection from subsequent infection, although cutoffs for immune protection were different. We defined the assays and seropositivity levels after natural infection that better measure and translate to protective immunity

The Lantern, 2014-2015

• The Retreat • Part of Eve\u27s Discussion • Buchanan • Hypotheticals • The Baby Hippo • Sertraline and Cheerios • Margins • Anatomy of Me • Orange • Ode to Mathematics • Garden Path • Periphery • 10n Power=Our Maybe Domains • Hillside • Baltimore//Analogues • Work is a Religion • At the Bridal Shower • November • Revisionist History • Cold Front • Lung (for D. Avitabile) • Tether • Hold Still • Reverb • An Almost English Major and His Daughter • Clocks • In the Kitchen on a Sunday Afternoon • Amy • Nine • Customary Thoughts • Showers • Te Encuentro • I Find You • Literary Analysis • The Diamond on My Face • Catherine • Hunsberger Woods, 11:42 on a School Night • Cabbage • After Class • For Chell • To Whom It May Concern • Contra • Shards • Smoke and Roses • Polaroid • Spring\u27s Debut • The Deadline • A Previous Life • Wet Canvas • Obsessions and Compulsions • For Xandra • The Seagulls of 17th Street • No Man\u27s Land • Summer Flowers • Float • Dana Reads • A Barcelona Moment • Business Meeting • Posted • Champagnehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1181/thumbnail.jp