Constructive thinking skills and impulsivity dimensions in conduct and substance use disorders: differences and relationships in an adolescents' sample.

Impact of conduct disorder (CD) and substance use disorder (SUD) on constructive thinking skills and impulsivity was explored. 71 offending adolescents were assessed for CD and SUD. Furthermore, the constructive thinking inventory, the immediate and delayed memory tasks and the UPPS impulsive behaviour scale were administered. Results showed that youths with CD, independently from SUD, presented higher personality impulsivity (urgency) and altered constructive thinking skills (categorical thinking and personal superstitious thinking). Furthermore, trait-impulsivity explained variation in constructive thinking skills. The implications of these results were discussed

Human t-DARPP is induced during striatal development

Human Dopamine- and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein of molecular weight 32 kDa (DARPP-32, also known as PPP1R1B) gene codes for different transcripts that are mainly translated into two DARPP-32 protein isoforms, full length (fl)-DARPP-32 and truncated (t)-DARPP. The t-DARPP lacks the first 36 residues at the N-terminal, which alters its function. In the central nervous system, fl-DARPP-32 is highly expressed in GABAergic striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs), where it integrates dopaminergic and glutamatergic input signaling. However, no information about human DARPP-32 isoform expression during MSNs maturation is available. In this study, our aim is to determine the expression of the two DARPP-32 isoforms in human fetal and adult striatal samples. We show that DARPP-32 isoform expression is differentially regulated during human striatal development, with the t-DARPP isoform being virtually absent from whole ganglionic eminence (WGE) and highly induced in the adult striatum (in both caudate and putamen). We next compared the four most common anti-DARPP-32 antibodies used in human specimens, to study their recognition of the two isoforms in fetal and adult human striatal samples by western blot and immunohistochemistry. The four antibodies specifically identify the fl-DARPP-32 in both fetal and adult samples, while t-DARPP form was only detected in adult striatal samples. In addition, the lack of t-DARPP recognition in human adult striatum by the antibody generated against the full-length domain produces in turn different efficacy by immunohistochemical analysis. In conclusion, our results show that expression of human DARPP-32 protein isoforms depends on the striatal neurodevelopmental stage with t-DARPP being specific for the human adult striatu

Mecanismos de transferencia y gestión estratégica del conocimiento en empresas de seguridad y salud en el trabajo

(Eng) This paper aims to analyse the knowledge transfer mechanisms and strategic knowledge management in occupational safety and health (OSH) companies. The main authors consulted for the study were Dav - enport (6) , Molina, and Marsal (8) . The research is descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional and with field design. Results indicate that the spontaneous transference is present through personal meetings, and formal transference is mainly characterized by counselling. We found weaknesses in the strategic analysis and objectives definitions for the strategic knowledge management in the studied or ganizations.(Spa) El presente artículo tiene como objetivo analizar los mecanismos de transferencia y gestión estratégica del conocimiento en empresas de seguridad y salud en el trabajo. Los autores bases considerados para el estudio son Davenport (6) y Molina y Marsal (8) . La investigación es descriptiva, con diseño no experimen - tal, transversal y de campo. Los resultados indican que la transferencia espontánea, está presente a través de las reuniones personales y la transferencia formalizada, se caracteriza por el desarrollo de asesorías. En cuanto a la gestión estratégica del conocimiento se presentan debilidades en el análisis estratégico y la definición de objetivos en las organizaciones analizadas

From fuzzy to annotated semantic web languages

The aim of this chapter is to present a detailed, selfcontained and comprehensive account of the state of the art in representing and reasoning with fuzzy knowledge in Semantic Web Languages such as triple languages RDF/RDFS, conceptual languages of the OWL 2 family and rule languages. We further show how one may generalise them to so-called annotation domains, that cover also e.g. temporal and provenance extensions

Pro-inflammatory gene expression and neurotoxic effects of activated microglia are attenuated by absence of CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β

Background. Microglia and astrocytes respond to homeostatic disturbances with profound changes of gene expression. This response, known as glial activation or neuroinflammation, can be detrimental to the surrounding tissue. The transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer binding protein ß (C/EBPß) is an important regulator of gene expression in inflammation but little is known about its involvement in glial activation. To explore the functional role of C/EBPß in glial activation we have analyzed pro-inflammatory gene expression and neurotoxicity in murine wild type and C/EBPß-null glial cultures. Methods. Due to fertility and mortality problems associated with the C/EBPß-null genotype we developed a protocol to prepare mixed glial cultures from cerebral cortex of a single mouse embryo with high yield. Wild-type and C/EBPß-null glial cultures were compared in terms of total cell density by Hoechst-33258 staining; microglial content by CD11b immunocytochemistry; astroglial content by GFAP western blot; gene expression by quantitative real-time PCR, western blot, immunocytochemistry and Griess reaction; and microglial neurotoxicity by estimating MAP2 content in neuronal/microglial cocultures. C/EBPß DNA binding activity was evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation. Results. C/EBPß mRNA and protein levels, as well as DNA binding, were increased in glial cultures by treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or LPS + interferon ¿ (IFN¿). Quantitative chromatin immunoprecipitation showed binding of C/EBPß to pro-inflammatory gene promoters in glial activation in a stimulus- and gene-dependent manner. In agreement with these results, LPS and LPS+IFN¿ induced different transcriptional patterns between pro-inflammatory cytokines and NO synthase-2 genes. Furthermore, the expressions of IL-1ß and NO synthase-2, and consequent NO production, were reduced in the absence of C/EBPß. In addition, neurotoxicity elicited by LPS+IFN¿-treated microglia co-cultured with neurons was completely abolished by the absence of C/EBPß in microglia

As políticas de escala nas disputas ambientais: o caso das zonas húmidas na Argentina

Struggles over the use and appropriation of the environment are one of the main objects of study of Political Ecology. The aim of this article is to analyze the struggles over the production of public policies that prescribe the forms of use and appropriation of the environment in the wetlands ecosystems in Argentina, between 2008 and 2019. In order to achieve this aim, we activate the concept ‘politics of scale’ coined by Neil Smith, who interprets scale as an instrument for political struggle. Through the use of a historical-narrative strategy, we reflect on the produced character of the scale in the processes under analysis and observe the changes that have occurred over time, as a result of dynamic social relations between multiple actors. Throughout the analysis, we identify several actions deployed by social actors to promote or restrict the creation of public policies aimed at regulating productive activities in the wetlands ecosystems and at favoring their protection. We conclude that a political ecology of scale may be constituted not only as an analytic tool for understanding environmental struggles, but also as a political tool capable of promoting new scalar arrangements that favor emancipatory policies.Las disputas por las formas de uso y apropiación del ambiente son uno de los objetos principales de estudio de la Ecología Política. El objetivo del artículo es analizar las disputas en torno a la producción de políticas públicas que prescriben las formas de uso y apropiación del ambiente en los ecosistemas de humedales en Argentina entre 2008 y 2019. Para ello, activamos el concepto ‘políticas de escala’ acuñado por Neil Smith, que interpreta a la escala como un instrumento para la lucha política. A través de una estrategia histórico-narrativa, reflexionamos sobre el carácter producido de la escala en los procesos bajo análisis y observamos los cambios a lo largo del tiempo, en tanto resultado de relaciones sociales dinámicas entre múltiples actores. A lo largo del análisis, identificamos las distintas acciones desplegadas por los actores para promover o restringir la creación de políticas públicas orientadas a regular las actividades productivas en los humedales y favorecer su protección. Concluimos que la ecología política de la escala puede constituirse no sólo como una herramienta analítica para la comprensión de las disputas ambientales, sino también como una herramienta política capaz de promover nuevos arreglos escalares que favorezcan las políticas emancipatoriasAs disputas pelas formas de uso e apropriação do ambiente são um dos objetivos principais de estudo da Ecologia Política. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar as disputas sobre a produção de políticas públicas que prescrevem as formas de uso e apropriação do ambiente nos ecossistemas de zonas húmidas na Argentina entre 2008 e 2019. Para isso ativamos o conceito “política de escala” de Neil Smith, que interpreta a escala como um instrumento para a luta política. Através de uma estratégia histórica-narrativa, reflexionamos sobre o caráter produzido da escala nos processos sob análise e observamos as mudanças ao longo do tempo, e o resultado das relações sociais dinâmicas entre os múltiplos atores. Ao longo da análise, identificamos as diferentes ações desenvolvidas pelos atores para promover ou restringir a criação de políticas públicas orientadas a regular as atividades produtivas nas zonas húmidas e favorecer sua proteção.  Concluímos que a ecologia política pode constituir-se não só em uma ferramenta analítica para a compreensão das disputas ambientais, mas também como um instrumento político capaz de promover novos acordos que favoreçam as políticas emancipatórias

On the incorporation of interval-valued fuzzy sets into the Bousi-Prolog system: declarative semantics, implementation and applications

In this paper we analyse the benefits of incorporating interval-valued fuzzy sets into the Bousi-Prolog system. A syntax, declarative semantics and im- plementation for this extension is presented and formalised. We show, by using potential applications, that fuzzy logic programming frameworks enhanced with them can correctly work together with lexical resources and ontologies in order to improve their capabilities for knowledge representation and reasoning

A framework for explaining query answers in dl-lite

An Ontology-based Data Access system is constituted by an ontology, namely a description of the concepts and the relations in a domain of interest, a database storing facts about the domain, and a mapping between the data and the ontology. In this paper, we consider ontologies expressed in the popular DL-Lite family of Description Logic, and we address the problem of computing explanations for answers to queries in an OBDA system, where queries are either positive, in particular conjunctive queries, or negative, i.e., negation of conjunctive queries. We provide the following contributions: (i) we propose a formal, comprehensive framework of explaining query answers in OBDA systems based on DL-Lite; (ii) we present an algorithm that, given a tuple returned as an answer to a positive query, and given a weighting function, examines all the explanations of the answer, and chooses the best explanation according to such function; (iii) we do the same for the answers to negative queries. Notably, on the way to get the latter result, we present what appears to be the first algorithm that computes the answers to negative queries in DL-Lite

CD200 is up-regulated in R6/1 transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease

In Huntington's disease (HD), striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) are particularly sensitive to the presence of a CAG repeat in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. However, there are many evidences that cells from the peripheral immune system and central nervous system (CNS) immune cells, namely microglia, play an important role in the etiology and the progression of HD. However, it remains unclear whether MSNs neurodegeneration is mediated by a non-cell autonomous mechanism. The homeostasis in the healthy CNS is maintained by several mechanisms of interaction between all brain cells. Neurons can control microglia activation through several inhibitory mechanisms, such as the CD200-CD200R1 interaction. Due to the complete lack of knowledge about the CD200-CD200R1 system in HD, we determined the temporal patterns of CD200 and CD200R1 expression in the neocortex, hippocampus and striatum in the HD mouse models R6/1 and HdhQ111/7 from pre-symptomatic to manifest stages. In order to explore any alteration in the peripheral immune system, we also studied the levels of expression of CD200 and CD200R1 in whole blood. Although CD200R1 expression was not altered, we observed and increase in CD200 gene expression and protein levels in the brain parenchyma of all the regions we examined, along with HD pathogenesis in R6/1 mice. Interestingly, the expression of CD200 mRNA was also up-regulated in blood following a similar temporal pattern. These results suggest that canonical neuronal-microglial communication through CD200-CD200R1 interaction is not compromised, and CD200 up-regulation in R6/1 brain parenchyma could represent a neurotrophic signal to sustain or extend neuronal function in the latest stages of HD as pro-survival mechanism

Developmental alterations in Huntington's disease neural cells and pharmacological rescue in cells and mice

Neural cultures derived from Huntington's disease (HD) patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells were used for 'omics' analyses to identify mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration. RNA-seq analysis identified genes in glutamate and GABA signaling, axonal guidance and calcium influx whose expression was decreased in HD cultures. One-third of gene changes were in pathways regulating neuronal development and maturation. When mapped to stages of mouse striatal development, the profiles aligned with earlier embryonic stages of neuronal differentiation. We observed a strong correlation between HD-related histone marks, gene expression and unique peak profiles associated with dysregulated genes, suggesting a coordinated epigenetic program. Treatment with isoxazole-9, which targets key dysregulated pathways, led to amelioration of expanded polyglutamine repeat-associated phenotypes in neural cells and of cognitive impairment and synaptic pathology in HD model R6/2 mice. These data suggest that mutant huntingtin impairs neurodevelopmental pathways that could disrupt synaptic homeostasis and increase vulnerability to the pathologic consequence of expanded polyglutamine repeats over time