The influence of semantic and phonological factors on syntactic decisions: An event-related brain potential study

During language production and comprehension, information about a word's syntactic properties is sometimes needed. While the decision about the grammatical gender of a word requires access to syntactic knowledge, it has also been hypothesized that semantic (i.e., biological gender) or phonological information (i.e., sound regularities) may influence this decision. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured while native speakers of German processed written words that were or were not semantically and/or phonologically marked for gender. Behavioral and ERP results showed that participants were faster in making a gender decision when words were semantically and/or phonologically gender marked than when this was not the case, although the phonological effects were less clear. In conclusion, our data provide evidence that even though participants performed a grammatical gender decision, this task can be influenced by semantic and phonological factors

Finding needles in haystacks: linking scientific names, reference specimens and molecular data for Fungi

DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi. The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Re-annotated and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with NR_prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi

Feeling of pleasure to high-intensity interval exercise is dependent of the number of work bouts and physical activity status

Objectives: To examine the affective responses during a single bout of a low-volume HIIE in active and insufficiently active men. Materials and methods: Fifty-eight men (aged 25.3 ± 3.6 years) volunteered to participate in this study: i) active (n = 29) and ii) insufficiently active (n = 29). Each subject undertook i) initial screening and physical evaluation, ii) maximal exercise test, and iii) a single bout of a low-volume HIIE. The HIIE protocol consisted of 10 x 60s work bouts at 90% of maximal treadmill velocity (MTV) interspersed with 60s of active recovery at 30% of MTV. Affective responses (Feeling Scale, -5/+5), rating of perceived exertion (Borg's RPE, 6-20), and heart rate (HR) were recorded during the last 10s of each work bout. A two-factor mixed-model repeated measures ANOVA, independent-samples t test, and chi-squared test were used to data analysis. Results: There were similar positive affective responses to the first three work bouts between insufficiently active and active men (p > 0.05). However, insufficiently active group displayed lower affective responses over time (work bout 4 to 10) than the active group (p 0.05). Conclusions: Insufficiently active and active men report feelings of pleasure to few work bouts (i.e., 3-4) during low-volume HIIE, while the affective responses become more unpleasant over time for insufficiently active subjects. Investigations on the effects of low-volume HIIE protocols including a fewer number of work bouts on health status and fitness of less active subjects would be interesting, especially in the first training weeks

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify type 2 diabetes risk loci, as well as loci containing gene variants that are associated with a modest elevation in glucose levels but are not associated with overt diabetes

New adipokines vaspin and omentin. Circulating levels and gene expression in adipose tissue from morbidly obese women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vaspin and omentin are recently described molecules that belong to the adipokine family and seem to be related to metabolic risk factors. The objectives of this study were twofold: to evaluate vaspin and omentin circulating levels and mRNA expression in subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues in non-diabetic morbidly obese women; and to assess the relationship of vaspin and omentin with anthropometric and metabolic parameters, and other adipo/cytokines.</p> <p>Design</p> <p>We analysed vaspin and omentin circulating levels in 71 women of European descent (40 morbidly obese [BMI ≥ 40 kg/m²] and 31 lean [BMI ≤ 25]). We assessed vaspin and omentin gene expression in paired samples of visceral and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue from 46 women: 40 morbidly obese and 6 lean. We determined serum vaspin and plasma omentin levels with an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and adipose tissue mRNA expression by real time RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Serum vaspin levels in the morbidly obese were not significantly different from those in controls. They correlated inversely with levels of lipocalin 2 and interleukin 6. Vaspin mRNA expression was significantly higher in the morbidly obese, in both subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue.</p> <p>Plasma omentin levels were significantly lower in the morbidly obese and they correlated inversely with glucidic metabolism parameters. Omentin circulating levels, then, correlated inversely with the metabolic syndrome (MS). Omentin expression in visceral adipose tissue was significantly lower in morbidly obese women than in controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study indicates that vaspin may have a compensatory role in the underlying inflammation of obesity. Decreased omentin circulating levels have a close association with MS in morbidly obese women.</p

Role of PCSK5 Expression in Mouse Ovarian Follicle Development: Identification of the Inhibin α- and β-Subunits as Candidate Substrates

Inhibin and activin are essential dimeric glycoproteins belonging to the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) superfamily. Inhibin is a heterodimer of α- and β-subunits, whereas activin is a homodimer of β-subunits. Production of inhibin is regulated during the reproductive cycle and requires the processing of pro-ligands to produce mature hormone. Furin is a subtilisin-like proprotein convertase (proconvertase) that activates precursor proteins by cleavage at basic sites during their transit through the secretory pathway and/or at the cell surface. We hypothesized that furin-like proconvertases are central regulators of inhibin α- and β-subunit processing within the ovary. We analyzed the expression of the proconvertases furin, PCSK5, PCSK6, and PCSK7 in the developing mouse ovary by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. The data showed that proconvertase enzymes are temporally expressed in ovarian cells. With the transition from two-layer secondary to pre-antral follicle, only PCSK5 mRNA was significantly elevated. Activin A selectively enhanced expression of PCSK5 mRNA and decreased expression of furin and PCSK6 in cultured two-layer secondary follicles. Inhibition of proconvertase enzyme activity by dec-RVKR-chloromethylketone (CMK), a highly specific and potent competitive inhibitor of subtilisin-like proconvertases, significantly impeded both inhibin α- and β-subunit maturation in murine granulosa cells. Overexpression of PC5/6 in furin-deficient cells led to increased inhibin α- and βB-subunit maturation. Our data support the role of proconvertase PCSK5 in the processing of ovarian inhibin subunits during folliculogenesis and suggest that this enzyme may be an important regulator of inhibin and activin bioavailability

Pattern of healthcare resource utilization and direct costs associated with manic episodes in Spain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although some studies indicate that bipolar disorder causes high health care resources consumption, no study is available addressing a cost estimation of bipolar disorder in Spain. The aim of this observational study was to evaluate healthcare resource utilization and the associated direct cost in patients with manic episodes in the Spanish setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Retrospective descriptive study was carried out in a consecutive sample of patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar type I disorder with or without psychotic symptoms, aged 18 years or older, and who were having an active manic episode at the time of inclusion. Information regarding the current manic episode was collected retrospectively from the medical record and patient interview.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven hundred and eighty-four evaluable patients, recruited by 182 psychiatrists, were included in the study. The direct cost associated with healthcare resource utilization during the manic episode was high, with a mean cost of nearly €4,500 per patient, of which approximately 55% corresponded to the cost of hospitalization, 30% to the cost of psychopharmacological treatment and 10% to the cost of specialized care.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results show the high cost of management of the patient with a manic episode, which is mainly due to hospitalizations. In this regard, any intervention on the management of the manic patient that could reduce the need for hospitalization would have a significant impact on the costs of the disease.</p

Estrogen-like activity of seafood related to environmental chemical contaminants

BACKGROUND: A wide variety of environmental pollutants occur in surface waters, including estuarine and marine waters. Many of these contaminants are recognised as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) which can adversely affect the male and female reproductive system by binding the estrogen receptor and exhibiting hormone-like activities. In this study the estrogenic activity of extracts of edible marine organisms for human consumption from the Mediterranean Sea was assayed. METHODS: Marine organisms were collected in two different areas of the Mediterranean Sea. The estrogenic activity of tissues was assessed using an in vitro yeast reporter gene assay (S. cerevisiae RMY 326 ER-ERE). Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (congeners 28, 52, 101, 118, 138, 153, 180) in fish tissue was also evaluated. RESULTS: Thirty-eight percent of extracts showed a hormone-like activity higher than 10% of the activity elicited by 10 nM 17b-estradiol (E2) used as control. Total PCB concentrations ranged from 0.002 up to 1.785 ng/g wet weight. Chemical analyses detected different levels of contamination among the species collected in the two areas, with the ones collected in the Adriatic Sea showing concentrations significantly higher than those collected in the Tyrrhenian Sea (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The more frequent combination of chemicals in the samples that showed higher estrogenic activity was PCB 28, PCB 101, PCB 153, PCB 180. The content of PCBs and estrogenic activity did not reveal any significant correlation

Autism diagnosis differentiates neurophysiological responses to faces in adults with tuberous sclerosis complex

- Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a common and highly heritable neurodevelopmental disorder that is likely to be the outcome of complex aetiological mechanisms. One strategy to provide insight is to study ASD within tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a rare disorder with a high incidence of ASD, but for which the genetic cause is determined. Individuals with ASD consistently demonstrate face processing impairments, but these have not been examined in adults with TSC using event-related potentials (ERPs) that are able to capture distinct temporal stages of processing. - Methods: For adults with TSC (n = 14), 6 of which had a diagnosis of ASD, and control adults (n = 13) passively viewed upright and inverted human faces with direct or averted gaze, with concurrent EEG recording. Amplitude and latency of the P1 and N170 ERPs were measured. - Results: Individuals with TSC + ASD exhibited longer N170 latencies to faces compared to typical adults. Typical adults and adults with TSC-only exhibited longer N170 latency to inverted versus upright faces, whereas individuals with TSC + ASD did not show latency differences according to face orientation. In addition, individuals with TSC + ASD showed increased N170 latency to averted compared to direct gaze, which was not demonstrated in typical adults. A reduced lateralization was shown for the TSC + ASD groups on P1 and N170 amplitude. - Conclusions: The findings suggest that individuals with TSC + ASD may have similar electrophysiological abnormalities to idiopathic ASD and are suggestive of developmental delay. Identifying brain-based markers of ASD that are similar in TSC and idiopathic cases is likely to help elucidate the risk pathways to ASD

Computational Identification of Phospho-Tyrosine Sub-Networks Related to Acanthocyte Generation in Neuroacanthocytosis

Acanthocytes, abnormal thorny red blood cells (RBC), are one of the biological hallmarks of neuroacanthocytosis syndromes (NA), a group of rare hereditary neurodegenerative disorders. Since RBCs are easily accessible, the study of acanthocytes in NA may provide insights into potential mechanisms of neurodegeneration. Previous studies have shown that changes in RBC membrane protein phosphorylation state affect RBC membrane mechanical stability and morphology. Here, we coupled tyrosine-phosphoproteomic analysis to topological network analysis. We aimed to predict signaling sub-networks possibly involved in the generation of acanthocytes in patients affected by the two core NA disorders, namely McLeod syndrome (MLS, XK-related, Xk protein) and chorea-acanthocytosis (ChAc, VPS13A-related, chorein protein). The experimentally determined phosphoproteomic data-sets allowed us to relate the subsequent network analysis to the pathogenetic background. To reduce the network complexity, we combined several algorithms of topological network analysis including cluster determination by shortest path analysis, protein categorization based on centrality indexes, along with annotation-based node filtering. We first identified XK- and VPS13A-related protein-protein interaction networks by identifying all the interactomic shortest paths linking Xk and chorein to the corresponding set of proteins whose tyrosine phosphorylation was altered in patients. These networks include the most likely paths of functional influence of Xk and chorein on phosphorylated proteins. We further refined the analysis by extracting restricted sets of highly interacting signaling proteins representing a common molecular background bridging the generation of acanthocytes in MLS and ChAc. The final analysis pointed to a novel, very restricted, signaling module of 14 highly interconnected kinases, whose alteration is possibly involved in generation of acanthocytes in MLS and ChAc