Synchronized tapping facilitates learning sound sequences as indexed by the P300

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether and how single finger tapping in synchrony with sound sequences contributed to the auditory processing of them. The participants learned two unfamiliar sound sequences via different methods. In the tapping condition, they learned an auditory sequence while they tapped in synchrony with each sound onset. In the no tapping condition, they learned another sequence while they kept pressing a key until the sequence ended. After these learning sessions, we presented the two melodies again and recorded event-related potentials (ERPs). During the ERP recordings, 10% of the tones within each melody deviated from the original tones. An analysis of the grand average ERPs showed that deviant stimuli elicited a significant P300 in the tapping but not in the no-tapping condition. In addition, the significance of the P300 effect in the tapping condition increased as the participants showed highly synchronized tapping behavior during the learning sessions. These results indicated that single finger tapping promoted the conscious detection and evaluation of deviants within the learned sequences. The effect was related to individuals’ musical ability to coordinate their finger movements along with external auditory events

Hard X-Ray Spectrum from West Lobe of Radio Galaxy Fornax A Observed with Suzaku

An observation of the West lobe of radio galaxy Fornax A (NGC 1316) with Suzaku is reported. Since Feigelson et al. (1995) and Kaneda et al. (1995) discovered the cosmic microwave background boosted inverse-Comptonized (IC) X-rays from the radio lobe, the magnetic field and electron energy density in the lobes have been estimated under the assumption that a single component of the relativistic electrons generates both the IC X-rays and the synchrotron radio emission. However, electrons generating the observed IC X-rays in the 1 -- 10 keV band do not possess sufficient energy to radiate the observed synchrotron radio emission under the estimated magnetic field of a few micro-G. On the basis of observations made with Suzaku, we show in the present paper that a 0.7 -- 20 keV spectrum is well described by a single power-law model with an energy index of 0.68 and a flux density of 0.12+/-0.01 micro-Jy at 1 keV from the West lobe. The derived multiwavelength spectrum strongly suggests that a single electron energy distribution over a Lorentz factor gamma = 300 - 90000 is responsible for generating both the X-ray and radio emissions. The derived physical quantities are not only consistent with those reported for the West lobe, but are also in very good agreement with those reported for the East lobe.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures; accepted for publication in PASJ (Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan) Suzaku 3rd special issue: TYPOS in flux density unit were correcte

Survey on the Occurrence of Viruses Infecting Cucurbits in YOGYAKARTA and Central Java

Cucurbits are grown throughout the Java Island as dry season crops. Plants having mosaic, mottling, chlorosis and leaf distortion symptoms were frequently found in most of the cucurbit fields during the survey which conducted in Central Java including Sleman, Kulon Progo, and Klaten during July–September 2000 and 2001. Using double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA); Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) and Kyuri green mottle mosaic virus (KGMMV) were found infecting cucurbits. CMV was widespread, infecting 48.9% of the samples tested followed by CGMMV (12.8%) and KGMMV (6.4%), while others samples (31.9%) were not tested, double infections were common with 8.5 % of the samples being infected with two viruses (CGMMV and KGMMV) and 34% with three viruses (CMV, CGMMV, and KGMMV). Severe mosaic and mottle symptoms were associated most often with single infection of CGMMV and KGMMV respectively. In addition, these are the first detections of CGMMV and KGMMV infecting cucurbit plants in Indonesia.Tanaman labu-labuan umumnya tumbuh sepanjang musim kemarau diPulau Jawa. Tanaman labu-labuan dengan gejala mosaik, klorosis, mottling dan bentuk daun serta buah yang berubah banyak dijumpai selama survei yang dilakukan di Kulon Progo, Sleman dan Klaten pada bulan Juli sampai September tahun 2000 dan 2001. Deteksi menggunakan metode double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) telah berhasil mengetahui keberadaan dan infeksiCucumber mosaic virus(CMV),Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) dan Kyuri green mottle mosaic virus (KGMMV) pada tanaman labu-labuan di tiga kabupaten tersebut. CMV menginfeksi tanaman labu-labuan tinggi yaitu 48,9% dari jumlah sampel tanaman yang dikoleksi, kemudian CGMMV (12,8%) dan KGMMV(6,4%), sedangkan sebanyak 14 sampel tanaman (31,9%)tidak dideteksi.Infeksi ganda banyak ditemukan dan 8,5 % sampel tanaman terinfeksi oleh dua jenis virus (CGMMV dan KGMMV) sedangkan 34% sampel tanaman terinfeksi oleh tiga jenis virus (CMV, CGMMV, dan KGMMV). Gejala mosaik dan mottling sering terjadi pada tanaman labu-labuan yang terinfeksi ganda oleh CGMMV dan KGMMV. Hasil penelitian merupakan deteksi pertama CGMMV dan KGGMV pada tanaman labu-labuan di Indonesia

Deepening Learning and Inspiring Rigor: Bridging Academic and Experiential Learning Using a Host Country Approach to a Study Tour

American students are increasingly incorporating study in a foreign country into their college educations, but many participate in short-term programs that limit their engagement with any more than the superficial aspects of the host culture. This article describes a short-term study abroad course for American students to Japan in which the authors drew on an “emic” host country model of group travel in an effort to combine high academic standards, personal growth, and deepened engagement with Japanese culture. The authors first consider the history of study tours in U.S. study abroad and then look at an alternative model provided by Japanese school trips. The authors explain the process by which their American students read, research, and work in groups to plan the itinerary for their study tour. The final section reports on their preliminary evaluations of the program and their plans for future excursions sponsored by the East Asian Studies program

TALE-mediated plant genome visualization

Live imaging of the dynamics of nuclear organization provides the opportunity to uncover the mechanisms responsible for four-dimensional genome architecture. Here, we describe the use of fluorescent protein (FP) fusions of transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) to visualize endogenous genomic sequences in Arabidopsis thaliana. The ability to engineer sequence-specific TALEs permits the investigation of precise genomic sequences. We could detect TALE-FP signals associated with centromeric, telomeric, and rDNA repeats and the signal distribution was consistent with that observed by fluorescent in situ hybridization. TALE-FPs are advantageous because they permit the observation of intact tissues. We used our TALE-FP method to investigate the nuclei of several multicellular plant tissues including roots, hypocotyls, leaves, and flowers. Because TALE-FPs permit live-cell imaging, we successfully observed the temporal dynamics of centromeres and telomeres in plant organs. Fusing TALEs to multimeric FPs enhanced the signal intensity when observing telomeres. We found that the mobility of telomeres was different in subnuclear regions. Transgenic plants stably expressing TALE-FPs will provide new insights into chromatin organization and dynamics in multicellular organisms

Effect Of Mk-801 And Clozapine On The Proteome Of Cultured Human Oligodendrocytes

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Separate lines of evidence have demonstrated the involvement of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and oligodendrocyte dysfunctions in schizophrenia. Here, we have carried out shotgun mass spectrometry proteome analysis of oligodendrocytes treated with the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 to gain potential insights into these effects at the molecular level. The MK-801 treatment led to alterations in the levels of 68 proteins, which are associated with seven distinct biological processes. Most of these proteins are involved in energy metabolism and many have been found to be dysregulated in previous proteomic studies of post-mortem brain tissues from schizophrenia patients. Finally, addition of the antipsychotic clozapine to MK-801 treated oligodendrocyte cultures resulted in changes in the levels of 45 proteins and treatment with clozapine alone altered 122 proteins and many of these showed opposite changes to the MK-801 effects. Therefore, these proteins and the associated energy metabolism pathways should be explored as potential biomarkers of antipsychotic efficacy. In conclusion, MK-801 treatment of oligodendrocytes may provide a useful model for testing the efficacy of novel treatment approaches.10Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) [13/08711-3, 14/21035-0, 14/14881-1, 14/10068-4]Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) [460289/2014-4]Research Fund (FAEPEX) from University of Campinas [0986/14]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq