Stepping back to look ahead: Neuter encapsulation and referent extension in counter-argumentative and causal relations in Spanish

In discourse comprehension, if all goes well, people tend to create a rich and coherent mental representation of the events described in the text. To do so, referential and relational coherence must be established in order to construct a connected discourse. The objective of this follow-up eye-tracking study (N = 72) is to explore the existence of an interaction effect between two factors: (a) the extension of the referent (short and long antecedent), and (b) the semantic relation (counter-argumentative a pesar de, and causal por), when processing the neuter pronoun ello in texts written in Spanish. No previous study has systematically compared the on-line processing of texts in which different extensions of the encapsulated anaphoric antecedent by the neuter pronoun ello ('this' or 'it' in English) are presented in diverse marked semantic relations (causal and counter-argumentative). Based on three eye-tracking measures, we found distinctive patterns of reading behavior when anaphoric neuter reference and semantic relations must be processed conjointly in order to construct a coherent mental representation. The main findings show that reading longer and more complex antecedents encapsulated by the neutral pronouns ello exerts more cognitive effort in late processing (Look Back measure), particularly when simultaneously and in the same discourse construction there is an explicitly marked counter-argumentative semantic relation. Implications for theories of referential and relational coherence are discussed

Always look back: Eye movements as a reflection of anaphoric encapsulation in Spanish while reading the neuter pronoun ello

Eye movements constitute an important cue to understanding how readers connect textual information, particularly when an encapsulator pronoun must be anaphorically resolved in order to construct a coherent mental representation of the text being read. While existing research into anaphoric reference has predominantly focused on the distance between pronouns and referents and on their morphosyntactic features, no previously published studies have addressed the effect in causal contexts of varying extensions of the referent being encapsulated by a neuter pronoun. In the present research, we help fill this gap by studying the effects of online processing of the anaphoric neuter Spanish pronoun ello (‘this’ in English) in causally-related texts using two varying referent extensions: short and long antecedent. A one factor repeated measures design was implemented. The results of three eye reading measures showed a fine-grained picture of encapsulation processes for seventy-two Chilean university students as they each read twelve texts. On the one hand, the reading times for processing the neuter pronoun ello AOI did not show statistically significant differences between the short and long conditions. On the other, the findings indicate that, in constructing referential and relational coherence in causally-related texts in Spanish, resolution of the neuter pronoun is in fact influenced by the extension of the referent

Biology of the <em>Trypanosoma cruzi</em> Genome

The genome of Trypanosoma cruzi was first made available in 2005, and the intrinsic genome complexity of this parasite has hindered high-quality genome assembly and annotation. Recent technological developments in long read sequencing allowed to circumvent this problem, showing very interesting features in the genome architecture of T. cruzi, allowing to accurately estimate gene copy numbers, abundance and distribution of repetitive sequences (including satellites and retroelements), and the complexity of multigene families implied in host-parasite interactions. The genome of T. cruzi is composed of a “core compartment” and a “disruptive compartment” which exhibit opposite GC content and gene composition, with high differences on their regulatory regions. The novel tandem and dispersed repetitive sequences identified, in addition to recombination events, allows to conclude that genome plasticity is a key survival strategy during its complex life cycle

Julio Vilamajó : fábrica de invenciones

La prueba de la existencia / Maria Julia Muñoz – [Prólogo] / Sergio Mautone – [Prólogo] / Enrique Aguerre – [Prólogo]/ Mónica NietoLa sombra del pensamiento / Gustavo Scheps – Solar, el papel y los asuntos / Laura Alemán – Infancia – Imaginario – Viaje – Figura humana – Animación – Obra – Caligrafí

Alternative splicing of the angiogenesis associated extra-domain B of fibronectin regulates the accessibility of the B-C loop of the type III repeat 8

BACKGROUND: Fibronectin (FN) is a multi-domain molecule involved in many cellular processes, including tissue repair, embryogenesis, blood clotting, and cell migration/adhesion. The biological activities of FN are mediated by exposed loops located mainly at the interdomain interfaces that interact with various molecules such as, but not only, integrins. Different FN isoforms arise from the alternative splicing of the pre-mRNA. In malignancies, the splicing pattern of FN pre-mRNA is altered; in particular, the FN isoform containing the extra-domain B (ED-B), a complete FN type III repeat constituted by 91 residues, is undetectable in normal adult tissues, but exhibits a much greater expression in fetal and tumor tissues, and is accumulated around neovasculature during angiogenic processes, thus making ED-B one of the best markers and targets of angiogenesis. The functions of ED-B are still unclear; however, it has been postulated that the insertion of an extra-domain such as ED-B modifies the domain-domain interface and may unmask loops that are otherwise cryptic, thus giving FN new potential activities. METHODOLOGY: We used the mAb C6, which reacts with ED-B containing FN, but not with ED-B-free FN and various recombinant FN fragments containing mutations, to precisely localize the epitopes recognized by the mAb C6. CONCLUSION: We formally demonstrated that the inclusion of the alternatively spliced angiogenesis-associated ED-B leads to the unmasking of the FNIII 8 B-C loop that is cryptic in FN molecules lacking ED-B. Thus, the mAb C6, in addition to providing a new reagent for angiogenesis targeting, represents a new tool for the study of the potential biological functions of the B-C loop of the repeat FNIII 8 that is unmasked during angiogenic processes

Use of uteroglobin for the engineering of polyvalent, polyspecific fusion proteins

We report a novel strategy to engineer and express stable and soluble human recombinant polyvalent/polyspecific fusion proteins. The procedure is based on the use of a central skeleton of uteroglobin, a small and very soluble covalently linked homodimeric protein that is very resistant to proteolytic enzymes and to pH variations. Using a human recombinant antibody (scFv) specific for the angiogenesis marker domain B of fibronectin, interleukin 2, and an scFv able to neutralize tumor necrosis factor-α, we expressed various biologically active uteroglobin fusion proteins. The results demonstrate the possibility to generate monospecific divalent and tetravalent antibodies, immunocytokines, and dual specificity tetravalent antibodies. Furthermore, compared with similar fusion proteins in which uteroglobin was not used, the use of uteroglobin improved properties of solubility and stability. Indeed, in the reported cases it was possible to vacuum dry and reconstitute the proteins without any aggregation or loss in protein and biological activity

¡Pará un Cacho!: letras misóginas de un cantante popular

Traemos para compartir un trabajo realizado en la Cátedra de Estética / Fundamentos Estéticos, comisión siete. Este trabajo es de participación grupal, realizado bajo una consigna común a todas las comisiones de la cátedra, siendo su aceptación requisito para la aprobación de la asignatura. La modalidad de trabajo consistió en elaborar, desde el marco teórico (bibliografía de las unidades del programa), un escrito abordando producciones artísticas de alguno/os integrantes del grupo, produciendo un artículo de arte en formato de publicación para revista cultural. De este modo la producción “Los machos dicen. No al discurso machista”, obra de arte de acción participativa que fuera realizada en el patio de la sede Fonseca de nuestra Facultad, es abordada por los integrantes del grupo, con una otra mirada, problematizadora y enriquecida desde lo conceptual. La obra seleccionada para su análisis plantea desde el arte una reflexión acerca de la violencia implícita y explícita contra la mujer en canciones populares, en este caso aquella de Cacho Castaña: “Si te agarro con otro te mato”; en relación que estas producciones reproducen, naturalizan y fomentan las prácticas violentas hacia la mujer.Facultad de Bellas Arte