Word reading and translation in bilinguals: the impact of formal and informal translation expertise

Studies on bilingual word reading and translation have examined the effects of lexical variables (e.g., concreteness, cognate status) by comparing groups of non-translators with varying levels of L2 proficiency. However, little attention has been paid to another relevant factor: translation expertise (TI). To explore this issue, we administered word reading and translation tasks to two groups of non-translators possessing different levels of informal TI (Experiment 1), and to three groups of bilinguals possessing different levels of translation training (Experiment 2). Reaction-time recordings showed that in all groups reading was faster than translation and unaffected by concreteness and cognate effects. Conversely, in both experiments, all groups translated concrete and cognate words faster than abstract and non-cognate words, respectively. Notably, an advantage of backward over forward translation was observed only for low-proficiency non-translators (in Experiment 1). Also, in Experiment 2, the modifications induced by translation expertise were more marked in the early than in the late stages of training and practice. The results suggest that TI contributes to modulating inter-equivalent connections in bilingual memory.Fil: García, Adolfo Martín. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Universidad Diego Portales; Chile. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano. Universidad Diego Portales; Chile. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe; Colombia. Australian Research Council; Australia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Huepe, David. Universidad Diego Portales; ChileFil: Houck, Alexander L.. University of Tennessee; Estados UnidosFil: Michon, Maeva. Universidad Diego Portales; ChileFil: Gelormini Lezama, Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Chadha, Sumeer. Universidad Diego Portales; ChileFil: Rivera Rei, Álvaro. Universidad Diego Portales; Chil

Tuning intermolecular charge transfer in donor-acceptor two-dimensional crystals on metal surfaces

Organic charge transfer (CT) compounds display a wide range of exotic electronic properties (charge-density wave stabilization, Peierls transitions, etc.) depending on the amount of charge transferred from the donor (D) to the acceptor (A) species. A complete exploration of the complex electronic phase diagrams for such compounds would thus require methods to systematically tune the amount of charge exchanged in the CT process. This has proven however challenging in the past: chemical functionalization of the constituent molecules can also affect the packing of the molecular units in the crystal, whereas changing D:A stoichiometry is often not possible in the bulk. Interestingly, it was recently found that multiple stoichiometries can actually be achieved by codeposition of different amounts of D and A molecules on metal surfaces. The question, however, of whether CT processes between D and A molecules can be tuned with the D:A ratio in such mixtures has not yet been studied, and it is no trivial matter, since competing CT processes between the metal surface and the organic adsorbates might hinder interadsorbate charge transfer. Here we demonstrate that the CT process from the organic donor tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) to the acceptor tetracyanoquino-p-dimethane (TCNQ) can be tuned with exquisite accuracy (∼0.1 e) by controlling the stoichiometry of D:A cocrystals deposited on Ag(111). This control opens new avenues to explore the complex phase diagrams of organic CT compounds and to tailor their electronic properties.The authors acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness (Grants FIS2012-33011, FIS2015-67367-C2-1-P, FIS2013-42002-R, FIS2016-77889-R, CTQ2013-43698-P, CTQ2016-76061-P), the regional government of Comunidad de Madrid (Grants S2009/MAT1726 and S2013/MIT-3007), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM/48) and IMDEA Nanoscience. L.F. acknowledges financial support from MIUR (PRIN-2010BNZ3F2, Project DESCARTES), S.D.-T. acknowledges the ‘“Ramón y Cajal”’ program of the MINECO (RYC-2010-07019), and the María de Maeztu Programme for Units of Excellence in R&D of the MINECO (MDM-2014-0377)

Clinical Characteristics and Long-term outcomes of patients undergoing combined heart-kidney transplantation: a single-center experience

[Abstract] Background. The purpose of the study was to describe clinical characteristics and long-term survival of patients undergoing combined heart-kidney transplant in a single center. Methods. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 22 consecutive patients who underwent combined heart-kidney transplant at our institution between 1995 and 2013. Long-term outcomes were analyzed by means of the Kaplan-Meier method. Results. Four patients underwent re-do transplant (2 cardiac re-transplants, 1 kidney re-transplant, and 1 combined heart-kidney re-transplant). Most frequent underlying cardiac conditions were coronary artery disease (54%), dilated cardiomyopathy (23%), and chronic rejection of a previous heart graft (18%). Known causes of chronic renal dysfunction were nephroangioesclerosis (23%), drug-related toxicity (14%), and Wegener granulomatosis (5%). Non-specified chronic renal dysfunction was present in 50% patients. In-hospital postoperative mortality rate was 5 of 22 (23%). Causes of early death were directly related to kidney transplant surgery in 4 of 5 (80%) patients. Among the remaining 17 patients who surmounted the postoperative period, long-term survival rates 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years after HKT were 88%, 82%, and 65%, respectively. Over a mean follow-up of 6.7 ± 6.4 years, cumulative incidences of cytomegalovirus infection, coronary allograft vasculopathy, malignancy, and acute cardiac graft rejection were 41%, 6%, 24%, and 41%, respectively. There was no episode of acute renal graft rejection. At the end of follow-up, all survivors (n = 11) were in functional New York Heart Association class I. Mean creatinine serum level was 1.68 mg/dL. Conclusions. In our experience, combined heart-kidney transplant is a feasible therapeutic option that yielded favorable long-term outcomes, with a low cumulative incidence of cardiac graft dysfunction. These results were obtained at the expense of a significant risk of early postoperative mortality, which was mainly related to complications of kidney transplant surgery

Liquen aureus zosteriforme. Caso clínico pediátrico

Lichen aureus is a rare pigmented purpuric dermatosis. We present an unusual case because of the pediatric age and the great number of lesions with zosteriform distribution. He is a 10-yearold boy, with a brownish, smaller than 1 cm, sharp edges, lichenified surface, asymptomatic macule, over the inner aspect of the left leg with a zosteriform distribution. The histology showed a band-like inflammatory infiltrate in the superficial dermis, composed of lymphocytes, histiocytes, erythrocytes and haemosiderin. He was diagnosed with zosteriform lichen aureus and was treated with topical mometasone furoate during 3 weeks resulting in partial lightening of the macules. Lesions have remained 2 years later, and new ones have appeared in the ipsilateral ankle. We must consider differential diagnosis with other pigmented purpuric dermatitis and pigmented purpuric mycosis fungoides. There are many therapeutic options and it tends to disappear spontaneously, so new studies are necessary

Intermediate Resolution Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of 36 late-M Dwarfs

We present observations of 36 late-M dwarfs obtained with the KeckII/NIRSPEC in the J-band at a resolution of \sim20,000. We have measured projected rotational velocities, absolute radial velocities, and pseudo-equivalent widths of atomic lines. 12 of our targets did not have previous measurements in the literature. For the other 24 targets, we confirm previously reported measurements. We find that 13 stars from our sample have vsini below our measurement threshold (12 km/s) whereas four of our targets are fast rotators (vsini > 30 km/s). As fast rotation causes spectral features to be washed out, stars with low projected rotational velocities are sought for radial velocity surveys. At our intermediate spectral resolution we have confirmed the identification of neutral atomic lines reported in Mclean et al. 2007. We also calculated pseudo-equivalent widths (p-EW) of 12 atomic lines. Our results confirm that the p-EW of K I lines are strongly dependent on spectral types. We observe that the p-EW of Fe I and Mn I lines remain fairly constant with later spectral type. We suggest that those lines are particularly suitable for deriving metallicities for late-M dwarfs.Comment: accepted in Astronomical Journal. 30 pages, 7 tables, and 7 figure

The lack of the TetR-like repressor gene BCG_2177c (Rv2160A) may help mycobacteria overcome intracellular redox stress and survive longer inside macrophages when surrounded by a lipid environment

Mycobacteria, like other microorganisms, survive under different environmental variations by expressing an efficient adaptive response, oriented by regulatory elements, such as transcriptional repressors of the TetR family. These repressors in mycobacteria also appear to be related to cholesterol metabolism. In this study, we have evaluated the effect of a fatty acid (oleic–palmitic–stearic)/cholesterol mixture on some phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of a tetR-mutant strain (BCG_2177c mutated gene) of M. bovis BCG, a homologous of Rv2160A of M. tuberculosis. In order to accomplish this, we have analyzed the global gene expression of this strain by RNA-seq and evaluated its neutral-lipid storage capacity and potential to infect macrophages. We have also determined the macrophage response by measuring some pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine expressions. In comparison with wild-type microorganisms, we showed that the mutation in the BCG_2177c gene did not affect the growth of M. bovis BCG in the presence of lipids but it probably modified the structure/composition of its cell envelope. Compared to with dextrose, an overexpression of the transcriptome of the wild-type and mutant strains was observed when these mycobacteria were cultured in lipids, mainly at the exponential phase. Twelve putative intracellular redox balance maintenance genes and four others coding for putative transcriptional factors (including WhiB6 and three TetR-like) were the main elements repeatedly overexpressed when cultured in the presence of lipids. These genes belonged to the central part of what we called the “genetic lipid signature” for M. bovis BCG. We have also found that all these mycobacteria genotypic changes affected the outcome of BCG-infected macrophages, being the mutant strain most adapted to persist longer inside the host. This high persistence result was also confirmed when mutant-infected macrophages showed overexpression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine TGF-ß versus pro-inflammatory cytokines. In summary, the lack of this TetR-like repressor expression, within a lipid environment, may help mycobacteria overcome intracellular redox stress and survive longer inside their host

Short-term impact of noise, other air pollutants and meteorological factors on emergency hospital mental health admissions in the Madrid region

A number of environmental factors, such as air pollution, noise in urbanised settings and meteorological-type variables, may give rise to important effects on human health. In recent years, many studies have confirmed the relation between various mental disorders and these factors, with a possible impact on the increase in emergency hospital admissions due to these causes. The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of a range of environmental factors on daily emergency hospital admissions due to mental disorders in the Madrid Autonomous Region (MAR), across the period 2013–2018

Force production and electromyographic activity during different flywheel deadlift exercises

This study aimed to characterize and compare force production and muscle activity during four flywheel deadlift exercises (bilateral [Bi] vs. unilateral [Uni]) with different loading conditions (vertical [Ver] vs. horizontal [Hor]). Twenty-three team-sport athletes underwent assessments for exercise kinetics (hand-grip force), along with surface electromyography (sEMG) of the proximal (BFProx) and medial biceps femoris (BFMed), semitendinosus (ST), and gluteus medius (GM). Mean and peak force were highest (p < 0.001) in Bi + Ver compared with Bi + Hor, Uni + Ver, and Uni + Hor. Although no significant differences were observed between Bi + Hor and Uni + Ver, both variants showed higher (p < 0.001) average force and peak eccentric force when compared with Uni + Hor. The presence of eccentric overload was only observed in the vertically loaded variants. Bi + Ver and Uni + Ver showed higher (p < 0.05) sEMG levels in BFProx and BFMed compared with the Uni + Hor variant. In addition, Uni + Ver registered the largest GM and ST sEMG values. In conclusion, the vertical variants of the flywheel deadlift exercise led to higher muscle force production and sEMG compared with their horizontal counterparts. Both Bi + Ver and Uni + Ver may be effective in promoting an increase in hamstring muscles activity and muscle force at long muscle length, while the Uni + Ver variant may be more effective in promoting GM and ST involvement

Comparison of blood lactate and perceived exertion responses in two matched time-under- tension protocols

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the concentration of blood lactate [bLa-] and the subjective perception of exertion of trained men in a moderate repetition protocol (MRP) versus a high repetition protocol (HRP) equated for time under tension. Methods: A sample of 40 healthy young men (aged, 23.2 ± 4.0 years; height, 177.3 ± 7.0 cm; BMI, 24.3 ± 2.2) performed two sessions of 8 sets of bicep curls with a one-week recovery interval between the trials. In the HRP protocol, 20 repetitions were performed with a cadence of 2 seconds of eccentric and 1 second of concentric, while in the MRP protocol 10 repetitions were performed with 4 seconds of eccentric and 2 seconds of concentric. Cadences were controlled by a metronome. At the beginning and end of each of the sessions, blood lactate was taken at 2, 15, and 30 minutes, and rating of perceived exertion (OMNI-RES) was assessed immediately after completion of each session. Results: There were [bLa-] differences between protocols in the MRP 2 min, (5.2 ±1.4); 15 min, (3.2 ±1.2); 30 min, (1.9 ±0.6); p\u3c 0.05, and the HRP 2 min, (6.1 ±1.6); 15 min, (3.7 ±1.1); 30 min, (2.2 ±0.6); p Conclusions: Training protocols with high times under tension promote substantial increases in metabolic stress, however, our findings indicate that HRP generates more [bLa-] than MRP. In addition, there were higher RPE values in the HRP protocol compared to MRP in single-joint exercises