Disowned recollections:denying true experiences undermines belief in occurrence but not judgments of remembering

Recent research findings have illustrated that false memories induced in the laboratory can be dissociated from the beliefs that the events had in fact occurred. In this study we assessed whether this dissociability is a quality peculiar to false memory, or whether it represents a general characteristic of autobiographical memory. To this end we examined whether people can be induced to stop believing in memories for true experiences. Participants observed and performed simple actions, and were later falsely informed that they had not performed some of them-that false memories for these actions had been implanted through the use of fabricated evidence. Before and after receiving this misinformation, participants rated their belief in and memory of performing those actions, other actions that they had also performed, and actions that they had not performed. Whereas the misinformation substantially undermined participants' beliefs in the specific performed actions about which they had been misinformed, it had little effect on their endorsement of remembering those actions. The misinformation thus boosted the proportion of occasions in which participants rated their memories as stronger than their beliefs, and it weakened the correlation between belief and memory ratings. Thus, this study provides the first experimental demonstration of non-believed memories of true experiences. We discuss our findings with reference to the small literature concerning the use of socially-communicated misinformation to undermine event memories, and with reference to the structure of autobiographical memory

Identification of Giardia lamblia DHHC Proteins and the Role of Protein S-palmitoylation in the Encystation Process

Protein S-palmitoylation, a hydrophobic post-translational modification, is performed by protein acyltransferases that have a common DHHC Cys-rich domain (DHHC proteins), and provides a regulatory switch for protein membrane association. In this work, we analyzed the presence of DHHC proteins in the protozoa parasite Giardia lamblia and the function of the reversible S-palmitoylation of proteins during parasite differentiation into cyst. Two specific events were observed: encysting cells displayed a larger amount of palmitoylated proteins, and parasites treated with palmitoylation inhibitors produced a reduced number of mature cysts. With bioinformatics tools, we found nine DHHC proteins, potential protein acyltransferases, in the Giardia proteome. These proteins displayed a conserved structure when compared to different organisms and are distributed in different monophyletic clades. Although all Giardia DHHC proteins were found to be present in trophozoites and encysting cells, these proteins showed a different intracellular localization in trophozoites and seemed to be differently involved in the encystation process when they were overexpressed. dhhc transgenic parasites showed a different pattern of cyst wall protein expression and yielded different amounts of mature cysts when they were induced to encyst. Our findings disclosed some important issues regarding the role of DHHC proteins and palmitoylation during Giardia encystation.Fil: Merino, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Zamponi, Nahuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Vranych, Cecilia Verónica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Touz, Maria Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Ropolo, Andrea Silvana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; Argentin

Feasibility of the porous zone approach to modelling vegetation in CFD

Vegetation within stormwater ponds varies seasonly and its presence affects the flow field, which in turn affects the pond’s Residence Time Distribution and its effectiveness at pollutant removal. Vegetated flows are complex and, as a result, few suitable tools exist for evaluating realistic stormwater pond designs. Recent research has suggested using a porous zone to represent vegetation within a CFD model, and this paper investigates the feasibility of this approach using ANSYS Fluent. One of the main benefits of using a porous zone is the ability to derive the relevant parameters from the known physical characteristics of stem diameter and porosity using the Ergun equation. A sensitivity analysis on the viscous resistance factor 1/α1/α and the inertial resistance factor C2C2 has been undertaken by comparing model results to data collected from an experimental vegetated channel. Best fit values of C2C2 were obtained for a range of flow conditions including emergent and submerged vegetation. Results show the CFD model to be insensitive to 1/α1/α but very sensitive to values of C2C2. For submerged vegetation, values of C2C2 derived from the Ergun equation are under-predictions of best-fit C2C2 values as only the turbulence due to the shear layer is represented. The porous zone approach does not take into account turbulence generated from stem wakes such that no meaningful predictions for emergent vegetation were obtained. C2C2 values calculated using a force balance show better agreement with best-fit C2C2 values than those derived from the Ergun equation. Manually fixing values of kk and εε within the porous zone of the model shows initial promise as a means of taking stem wakes into account

SERPINB5 and AKAP12 -- Expression and promoter methylation of metastasis suppressor genes in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Early metastasis and infiltration are survival limiting characteristics of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Thus, PDAC is likely to harbor alterations in metastasis suppressor genes that may provide novel diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities. This study investigates a panel of metastasis suppressor genes in correlation to PDAC phenotype and examines promoter methylation for regulatory influence on metastasis suppressor gene expression and for its potential as a diagnostic tool.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Metastatic and invasive potential of 16 PDAC cell lines were quantified in an orthotopic mouse model and mRNA expression of 11 metastasis suppressor genes determined by quantitative RT-PCR. Analysis for promoter methylation was performed using methylation specific PCR and bisulfite sequencing PCR. Protein expression was determined by Western blot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In general, higher metastasis suppressor gene mRNA expression was not consistent with less aggressive phenotypes of PDAC. Instead, mRNA overexpression of several metastasis suppressor genes was found in PDAC cell lines vs. normal pancreatic RNA. Of the investigated metastasis suppressor genes, only higher <it>AKAP12 </it>mRNA expression was correlated with decreased metastasis (P < 0.05) and invasion scores (P < 0.01) while higher <it>SERPINB5 </it>mRNA expression was correlated with increased metastasis scores (P < 0.05). Both genes' promoters showed methylation, but only increased <it>SERPINB5 </it>methylation was associated with loss of mRNA and protein expression (P < 0.05). <it>SERPINB5 </it>methylation was also directly correlated to decreased metastasis scores (P < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>AKAP12 </it>mRNA expression was correlated to attenuated invasive and metastatic potential and may be associated with less aggressive phenotypes of PDAC while no such evidence was obtained for the remaining metastasis suppressor genes. Increased <it>SERPINB5 </it>mRNA expression was correlated to increased metastasis and mRNA expression was regulated by methylation. Thus, <it>SERPINB5 </it>methylation was directly correlated to metastasis scores and may provide a diagnostic tool for PDAC.</p

The Virtual-Spine Platform—Acquiring, visualizing, and analyzing individual sitting behavior

Back pain is a serious medical problem especially for those people sitting over long periods during their daily work. Here we present a system to help users monitoring and examining their sitting behavior. The Virtual-Spine Platform (VSP) is an integrated system consisting of a real-time body position monitoring module and a data visualization module to provide individualized, immediate, and accurate sitting behavior support. It provides a comprehensive spine movement analysis as well as accumulated data visualization to demonstrate behavior patterns within a certain period. The two modules are discussed in detail focusing on the design of the VSP system with adequate capacity for continuous monitoring and a web-based interactive data analysis method to visualize and compare the sitting behavior of different persons. The data was collected in an experiment with a small group of subjects. Using this method, the behavior of five subjects was evaluated over a working day, enabling inferences and suggestions for sitting improvements. The results from the accumulated data module were used to elucidate the basic function of body position recognition of the VSP. Finally, an expert user study was conducted to evaluate VSP and support future developments

Quantitative Multicolor Compositional Imaging Resolves Molecular Domains in Cell-Matrix Adhesions

Background: Cellular processes occur within dynamic and multi-molecular compartments whose characterization requires analysis at high spatio-temporal resolution. Notable examples for such complexes are cell-matrix adhesion sites, consisting of numerous cytoskeletal and signaling proteins. These adhesions are highly variable in their morphology, dynamics, and apparent function, yet their molecular diversity is poorly defined. Methodology/Principal Findings: We present here a compositional imaging approach for the analysis and display of multicomponent compositions. This methodology is based on microscopy-acquired multicolor data, multi-dimensional clustering of pixels according to their composition similarity and display of the cellular distribution of these composition clusters. We apply this approach for resolving the molecular complexes associated with focal-adhesions, and the time-dependent effects of Rho-kinase inhibition. We show here compositional variations between adhesion sites, as well as ordered variations along the axis of individual focal-adhesions. The multicolor clustering approach also reveals distinct sensitivities of different focaladhesion-associated complexes to Rho-kinase inhibition. Conclusions/Significance: Multicolor compositional imaging resolves ‘‘molecular signatures’ ’ characteristic to focaladhesions and related structures, as well as sub-domains within these adhesion sites. This analysis enhances the spatial information with additional ‘‘contents-resolved’ ’ dimensions. We propose that compositional imaging can serve as

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO