Expectancy-based strategic processes are influenced by spatial working memory load and individual differences in working memory capacity

The present research examined whether imposing a high (or low) working memory (WM) load in different types of nonverbal WM task could affect the implementation of expectancy-based strategic processes in a sequential verbal Stroop task. Participants had to identify a colored target (a red vs. green patch) that was preceded by a prime word (RED or GREEN), which was incongruent with the target color on 80% of the trials, and congruent on 20% of trials. Previous findings have shown that participants can strategically use this information to predict the upcoming target color, and avoid the standard Stroop interference effect. The Stroop task was combined with different types of nonverbal WM task. In Experiment 1, participants had to retain sets of four arrows that pointed either in the same direction (low load) or in different directions (high load). In Experiment 2, they had to remember the spatial locations of four dots which either formed a straight line (low load) or were randomly scattered in a square grid (high load).In addition, participants in the two experiments performed a change localization task to obtain a measure of their WM capacity (WMC). The results in both experiments showed a reliable interaction between prime-target congruency and WM load. When participants performed the Stroop task under high WM load, they were unable to efficiently ignore the incongruence of the prime, as they consistently showed a standard Stroop effect, regardless of their WMC. Under a low WM load, however, a strategy-dependent (reversed Stroop) effect was observed. This ability to ignore the incongruence of the prime was modulated by WMC, such that the reversed Stroop effect was mainly found in higher WMC participants. The findings that expectancy-based strategies on a verbal Stroop task are modulated by load on different types of spatial WM tasks point at a domain-general effect of WM on strategic processing. The present results also suggest that the impact of loading WM on expectancy-based strategies can be modulated by individual differences in WMC

The senescence-associated secretory phenotype induces cellular plasticity and tissue regeneration

Senescence is a form of cell cycle arrest induced by stress such as DNA damage and oncogenes. However, while arrested, senescent cells secrete a variety of proteins collectively known as the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which can reinforce the arrest and induce senescence in a paracrine manner. However, the SASP has also been shown to favor embryonic development, wound healing, and even tumor growth, suggesting more complex physiological roles than currently understood. Here we uncover timely new functions of the SASP in promoting a proregenerative response through the induction of cell plasticity and stemness. We show that primary mouse keratinocytes transiently exposed to the SASP exhibit increased expression of stem cell markers and regenerative capacity in vivo. However, prolonged exposure to the SASP causes a subsequent cell-intrinsic senescence arrest to counter the continued regenerative stimuli. Finally, by inducing senescence in single cells in vivo in the liver, we demonstrate that this activates tissue-specific expression of stem cell markers. Together, this work uncovers a primary and beneficial role for the SASP in promoting cell plasticity and tissue regeneration and introduces the concept that transient therapeutic delivery of senescent cells could be harnessed to drive tissue regeneration

ID1 and ID4 Are Biomarkers of Tumor Aggressiveness and Poor Outcome in Immunophenotypes of Breast Cancer

Inhibitor of differentiation (ID) proteins are a family of transcription factors that contribute to maintaining proliferation during embryogenesis as they avoid cell differentiation. Afterward, their expression is mainly silenced, but their reactivation and contribution to tumor development have been suggested. In breast cancer (BC), the overexpression of ID1 has been previously described. However, whether the remaining ID genes have a specific role in this neoplasia is still unclear. We studied the mRNA expression of all ID genes by q RT-PCR in BC cell lines and 307 breast carcinomas, including all BC subtypes. Our results showed that ID genes are highly expressed in all cell lines tested. However, ID4 presented higher expression in BC cell lines compared to a healthy breast epithelium cell line. In accordance, ID1 and ID4 were predominantly overexpressed in Triple-Negative and HER2-enriched samples. Moreover, high levels of both genes were associated with larger tumor size, histological grade 3, necrosis and vascular invasion, and poorer patients’ outcomes. In conclusion, ID1 and ID4 may act as biomarkers of tumor aggressiveness and worse prognosis in breast cancer, and they could be used as potential targets for new treatments discover.This research was funded by the Alicante Institute for Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL) (UGP 16-149 and UGP 180184) and Navarro-Tripodi Foundation (BOLA00150). M.G.E. was supported by fellowships issued by the Valencian Government of Spain (GVA) and the European Social Fund (ACIF/2016/004)

Do successor effects in reading reflect lexical parafoveal processing? Evidence from corpus-based and experimental eye movement data

Abstract In the past, most research on eye movements during reading involved a limited number of subjects reading sentences with specific experimental manipulations on target words. Such experiments usually only analyzed eye-movements measures on and around the target word. Recently, some researchers have started collecting larger data sets involving large and diverse groups of subjects reading large numbers of sentences, enabling them to consider a larger number of influences and study larger and more representative subject groups. In such corpus studies, most of the words in a sentence are analyzed. The complexity of the design of corpus studies and the many potentially uncontrolled influences in such studies pose new issues concerning the analysis methods and interpretability of the data. In particular, several corpus studies of reading have found an effect of successor word (n + 1) frequency on current word (n) fixation times, while studies employing experimental manipulations tend not to. The general interpretation of corpus studies suggests that readers obtain parafoveal lexical information from the upcoming word before they have finished identifying the current word, while the experimental manipulations shed doubt on this claim. In the present study, we combined a corpus analysis approach with an experimental manipulation (i.e., a parafoveal modification of the moving mask technique, Rayner & Bertera, 1979), so that, either (a) word n+1, (b) word n+;2, (c) both words, or (d) neither word was masked. We found that denying preview for either or both parafoveal words increased average fixation times. Furthermore, we found successor effects similar to those reported in the corpus studies. Importantly, these successor effects were found even when the parafoveal word was masked, suggesting that apparent successor frequency effects may be due to causes that are unrelated to lexical parafoveal preprocessing. We discuss the implications of this finding both for parallel and serial accounts of word identification and for the interpretability of large correlational studies of word identification in reading in general

Puesta en marcha y coordinación del Máster en Optometría Avanzada y Salud Visual

Durante el curso 2015-2016 se va a implantar, en la Universidad de Alicante, el máster en Optometría Avanzada y Salud Visual, que fue aprobado por la ANECA en diciembre del 2014. Con el fin de coordinar las actividades docentes de cada una de las asignaturas del máster y dentro del Proyecto de Redes de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria 2014-2015, se ha creado una red formada por todos los profesores coordinadores de las asignaturas que constituyen el plan de estudios y que han participado en la realización de la memoria de dicho máster. En esta red se pretende la coordinación entre todas las asignaturas para organizar y desarrollar sus actividades con el fin de conseguir una buena distribución de la carga docente y un mejor aprovechamiento por parte del alumno de la docencia recibida. Por otra parte, dado que en este máster participan varias empresas del sector óptico y clínicas oftalmológicas es necesario determinar qué actividades propuestas por las empresas y clínicas se van a incluir en cada asignatura y planificarlas adecuadamente

Trabajo de coordinación para la implantación del Máster en Optometría Avanzada y Salud Visual

Durante el curso 2013-2014 la Universidad de Alicante ha propuesto la implantación del Master en Optometría Avanzada y Salud Visual, dicha solicitud está siendo actualmente evaluada por la ANECA. Con el fin de coordinar la docencia de este Máster y dentro del Proyecto de Redes de Investigación en Docencia Universitaria 2013-2014, se ha creado una red formada por todos los profesores que han participado en la elaboración del plan de estudios. En esta red esta red se pretende la coordinación entre las distintas asignaturas para elaborar las guías docentes a partir de los datos de las fichas enviadas a la ANECA. Por otra parte también se ha modificado la memoria atendiendo a las alegaciones realizadas por la ANECA. Y se han desarrollado los contenidos, la metodología de las distintas actividades propuestas con el fin de asegurar la consecución de las competencias previstas

Adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells for the treatment of patients with severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation. A proof of concept study

Background: Identification of effective treatments in severe cases of COVID-19 requiring mechanical ventilation represents an unmet medical need. Our aim was to determine whether the administration of adipose-tissue derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AT-MSC) is safe and potentially useful in these patients. Methods: Thirteen COVID-19 adult patients under invasive mechanical ventilation who had received previous antiviral and/or anti-inflammatory treatments (including steroids, lopinavir/ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine and/or tocilizumab, among others) were treated with allogeneic AT-MSC. Ten patients received two doses, with the second dose administered a median of 3 days (interquartile range-IQR- 1 day) after the first one. Two patients received a single dose and another patient received 3 doses. Median number of cells per dose was 0.98 × 106 (IQR 0.50 × 106) AT-MSC/kg of recipient's body weight. Potential adverse effects related to cell infusion and clinical outcome were assessed. Additional parameters analyzed included changes in imaging, analytical and inflammatory parameters. Findings: First dose of AT-MSC was administered at a median of 7 days (IQR 12 days) after mechanical ventilation. No adverse events were related to cell therapy. With a median follow-up of 16 days (IQR 9 days) after the first dose, clinical improvement was observed in nine patients (70%). Seven patients were extubated and discharged from ICU while four patients remained intubated (two with an improvement in their ventilatory and radiological parameters and two in stable condition). Two patients died (one due to massive gastrointestinal bleeding unrelated to MSC therapy). Treatment with AT-MSC was followed by a decrease in inflammatory parameters (reduction in C-reactive protein, IL-6, ferritin, LDH and d-dimer) as well as an increase in lymphocytes, particularly in those patients with clinical improvement. Interpretation: Treatment with intravenous administration of AT-MSC in 13 severe COVID-19 pneumonia under mechanical ventilation in a small case series did not induce significant adverse events and was followed by clinical and biological improvement in most subjects. Funding: None.We would like to acknowledge the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) through the project “RD16/0011: Red de Terapia Celular”, from the sub-program RETICS, integrated in the “Plan Estatal de I+D+I 2013-2016” and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund “A way to make Europe”, groups RD16/0011/0001, -/0002, -/005, -/0013, -/0015, -/0029), the Centro en Red de Medicina Regenerativa y Terapia Celular de Castilla y León, Spain and AvanCell-CM (Red de Investigación de Terapia Celular de la Comunidad de Madrid, Spain), for supporting some personnel and networking activities

Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags of the Cyclically Parthenogenetic Rotifer Brachionus plicatilis

Background. Rotifers are among the most common non-arthropod animals and are the most experimentally tractable members of the basal assemblage of metazoan phyla known as Gnathifera. The monogonont rotifer Brachionus plicatilis is a developing model system for ecotoxicology, aquatic ecology, cryptic speciation, and the evolution of sex, and is an important food source for finfish aquaculture. However, basic knowledge of the genome and transcriptome of any rotifer species has been lacking. Methodology/Principal Findings. We generated and partially sequenced a cDNA library from B. plicatilis and constructed a database of over 2300 expressed sequence tags corresponding to more than 450 transcripts. About 20% of the transcripts had no significant similarity to database sequences by BLAST; most of these contained open reading frames of significant length but few had recognized Pfam motifs. Sixteen transcripts accounted for 25% of the ESTs; four of these had no significant similarity to BLAST or Pfam databases. Putative up- and downstream untranslated regions are relatively short and AT rich. In contrast to bdelloid rotifers, there was no evidence of a conserved trans-spliced leader sequence among the transcripts and most genes were single-copy. Conclusions/Significance. Despite the small size of this EST project it revealed several important features of the rotifer transcriptome and of individual monogonont genes. Because there is little genomic data for Gnathifera, the transcripts we found with no known function may represent genes that are species-, class-, phylum- or even superphylum-specific; the fact that some are among the most highly expressed indicates their importance. The absence of trans-spliced leader exons in this monogonont species contrasts with their abundance in bdelloid rotifers and indicates that the presence of this phenomenon can vary at the subphylum level. Our EST database provides a relatively large quantity of transcript-level data for B. plicatilis, and more generally of rotifers and other gnathiferan phyla, and can be browsed and searched at gmod.mbl.edu