Measuring statistical learning by eye-tracking

Statistical learning—the skill to pick up probability-based regularities of the environment—plays a crucial role in adapting to the environment and learning perceptual, motor, and language skills in healthy and clinical populations. Here, we developed a new method to measure statistical learning without any manual responses. We used the Alternating Serial Reaction Time (ASRT) task, adapted to eye-tracker, which, besides measuring reaction times (RTs), enabled us to track learning-dependent anticipatory eye movements. We found robust, interference-resistant learning on RT; moreover, learning-dependent anticipatory eye movements were even more sensitive measures of statistical learning on this task. Our method provides a way to apply the widely used ASRT task to operationalize statistical learning in clinical populations where the use of manual tasks is hindered, such as in Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, it also enables future basic research to use a more sensitive version of this task to measure predictive processing

Divided attention does not affect the acquisition and consolidation of transitional probabilities

Statistical learning facilitates the efficient processing and prediction of environmental events and contributes to the acquisition of automatic behaviors. Whereas a minimal level of attention seems to be required for learning to occur, it is still unclear how acquisition and consolidation of statistical knowledge are affected when attention is divided during learning. To test the effect of divided attention on statistical learning and consolidation, ninety-six healthy young adults performed the Alternating Serial Reaction Time task in which they incidentally acquired second-order transitional probabilities. Half of the participants completed the task with a concurrent secondary intentional sequence learning task that was applied to the same stimulus stream. The other half of the participants performed the task without any attention manipulation. Performance was retested after a 12-h post-learning offline period. Half of each group slept during the delay, while the other half had normal daily activity, enabling us to test the effect of delay activity (sleep vs. wake) on the consolidation of statistical knowledge. Divided attention had no effect on statistical learning: The acquisition of second-order transitional probabilities was comparable with and without the secondary task. Consolidation was neither affected by divided attention: Statistical knowledge was similarly retained over the 12-h delay, irrespective of the delay activity. Our findings can contribute to a better understanding of the role of attentional processes in and the robustness of visuomotor statistical learning and consolidation

Speed and accuracy instructions affect two aspects of skill learning differently

Procedural learning is key to optimal skill learning and is essential for functioning in everyday life. The findings of previous studies are contradictory regarding whether procedural learning can be modified by prioritizing speed or accuracy during learning. The conflicting results may be due to the fact that procedural learning is a multifaceted cognitive function. The purpose of our study is to determine whether and how speed and accuracy instructions affect two aspects of procedural learning: the learning of probability-based and serial-order-based regularities. Two groups of healthy individuals were instructed to practice on a cued probabilistic sequence learning task: one group focused on being fast and the other on being accurate during the learning phase. The speed instruction resulted in enhanced expression of probability-based but not serial-order-based knowledge. After a retention period, we instructed the participants to focus on speed and accuracy equally, and we tested their acquired knowledge. The acquired knowledge was comparable between groups in both types of learning. These findings suggest that different aspects of procedural learning can be affected differently by instructions. However, only momentary performance might be boosted by speed instruction; the acquired knowledge remains intact. In addition, as the accuracy instruction resulted in accuracy near ceiling level, the results illustrate that response errors are not needed for humans to learn in the procedural domain and draw attention to the fact that different instructions can separate competence from performance

A kettős-ballonos endoszkópia szerepe a vékonybél betegségeinek diagnózisában és kezelésében összehasonlítva a kapszulás endoszkópiával

A legutóbbi évekig csak a vékonybél kezdeti szakasza volt megközelíthetô a diagnosztikus vagy terápiás endoszkópos beavatkozások számára. Egy új, kettôs ballonos (DBE) endoszkópos eljárás, amely nagy felbontású képet szolgáltat, mindkettôre lehetôséget nyújt a gastrointestinalis traktus bármely területén. A tanulmány célja az volt, hogy beszámoljunk a Fujinon EN-T5 terápiás kettôs ballonos enteroszkóppal szerzett tapasztalatainkról, illetve összevessük az eredményeket a korábbi kapszulás endoszkópia eredményével, akinél ez rendelkezésre állt

Catalytic mechanism of alpha-phosphate attack in dUTPase is revealed by X-ray crystallographic snapshots of distinct intermediates, 31P-NMR spectroscopy and reaction path modelling.

Enzymatic synthesis and hydrolysis of nucleoside phosphate compounds play a key role in various biological pathways, like signal transduction, DNA synthesis and metabolism. Although these processes have been studied extensively, numerous key issues regarding the chemical pathway and atomic movements remain open for many enzymatic reactions. Here, using the Mason-Pfizer monkey retrovirus dUTPase, we study the dUTPase-catalyzed hydrolysis of dUTP, an incorrect DNA building block, to elaborate the mechanistic details at high resolution. Combining mass spectrometry analysis of the dUTPase-catalyzed reaction carried out in and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) simulation, we show that the nucleophilic attack occurs at the alpha-phosphate site. Phosphorus-31 NMR spectroscopy (31P-NMR) analysis confirms the site of attack and shows the capability of dUTPase to cleave the dUTP analogue alpha,beta-imido-dUTP, containing the imido linkage usually regarded to be non-hydrolyzable. We present numerous X-ray crystal structures of distinct dUTPase and nucleoside phosphate complexes, which report on the progress of the chemical reaction along the reaction coordinate. The presently used combination of diverse structural methods reveals details of the nucleophilic attack and identifies a novel enzyme-product complex structure

The Implications of the “Responsıbılıty To Protect” on the Reformation of the United Nations

In June 2015, the United Nations (UN) will celebrate its 70th birthday with its 193 members. In these 70 years the world has undergone tremendous changes. It is not only the geopolitical landscape of the world that has changed, but also the rules governing the world have evolved, as did the challenges the UN has to deal with. Nevertheless, the political and legal structure of the United Nations especially that of the Security Council has remained unvarying and anachronistic, rendering it inefficient in accomplishing its main tasks. As the scope of what constitutes a threat to international peace has also changed in the aftermath of the Cold War, currently the Security Council has to deal with a larger variety of challenges against peace, among which come humanitarian crises. Currently, the Council is the sole authority with the legal power to decide whether or not to take action in cases of grave violations of human rights.Haziran 2015’te 193 üyesi ile birlikte 70. yaş gününü kutlayacak olan Birleşmiş Milletler (BM) geçen bu yetmiş yıl içinde büyük değişikliklere uğramıştır. Bu süreçte değişen sadece dünyanın jeopolitik görünümü olmamış, BM'nin uğraşmak zorunda olduğu durumlar çesitlendiği gibi dünya düzenini sağlayan kurallar da gelişmiştir. Bununla birlikte, Birleşmiş Milletler’in siyasi ve hukuki yapısı, özellikle de Güvenlik Konseyi’nin değişmeyip çağdışı kalması, Konsey’i temel görevlerini yerine getirmek konusunda yetersiz kılmıştır. Soğuk Savaş sonrasında uluslararası barışa tehdit oluşturan faaliyetlerin kapsamı da değişmiştir. Bu nedenle, günümüzde Güvenlik Konseyi barış karşıtı olarak nitelendirilen, aralarında insani krizlerin de bulunduğu çeşitli ve çok sayıda zorlukla baş etmek zorundadır. Günümüzde, insan hakları ihlalleri durumlarında harekete geçip geçmeme konusunda hukuki bağlayıcılığı olan kararlar verme gücüne sahip yegane otorite Güvenlik Konseyi’dir

An Experience of Public Dental Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Reflection and Analysis

Since its emergence in China, the COVID-19 pandemic has become the number 1 health challenge in the world with all affected countries trying to learn from each other’s experiences. When it comes to health services, dental care does not seem to be a priority area, despite the fact that it is among the highest risk medical specialisations in terms of spreading the infection. Using the Department of Community Dentistry of Semmelweis University as a case study, the objective of this paper is to introduce and analyze the system and organizational level measures, which have been implemented in dental care in Hungary during the first months of the COVID-19 outbreak. The system level measures to promote social distancing, to reduce the use of health services and to protect high risk health professionals, together with the deployment of protective equipment and the reorganization of patient pathways at the organizational level proved to be effective in keeping the outbreak in control. There are two, less frequently mentioned ingredients of successful coping with the COVID-19 challenge. First, mental health support is at least as important as physical protection. Second, most of the interventions do not require big financial investments, but behavioural change, which in turn requires leadership and change management skills

Comparative study on the appearance of various bioactive peptides in foregut derivates during the ontogenesis

Bioactive peptides have an important multifunctional role in the gastrointestinal tract. In the present study we have investigated the dynamism of the appearance of PACAP (pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide), VIP (vasoactive intestinal polypeptide), gastrin, and secretin immunoreactivities in human foregut derivates during the ontogenesis using an immunohistochemical approach. None of these peptides were observed in the foregut derivates of an 8-week-old embryo. VIP immunoreactive nerve fibers appeared by the 11th week in the smooth muscle layers of the stomach. No other peptide immunoreactivities were observed of this stage. In 18- and 20-week old fetuses PACAP, secretin, and gastrin immunoreactive cells appeared in the developing glands of the stomach. In the duodenum gastrin immunoreactivity was present in the Lieberkuhn's glands and secretin immunoreactive cells were seen between the surface epithelial cells. In the pancreas secretin immunoreactivity was found in the Langerhans islets; however, PACAP immunreactivity was observed in the exocrine portion. The distribution of VIP fibers did not change during the fetal life and it was similar to the adult pattern. According to our results the appearance of PACAP, secretin, and gastrin in the developing glands suggests their role in the proliferation and differentiation of the epithelial derivates