The contribution of interference control for young children`s working memory performance: Insights from eye-tracking

In the present study, the role of visual attentional processes for working memory performance in a sample of 6-year-olds was investigated. This was done by combining an individual differences approach with an experimental manipulation: For the individual differences approach, participants were grouped based on their performance in a classical interference control task, and their working memory skills were systematically compared. For the experimental manipulation, the need to control interference while performing a working memory task was increased in one condition through presentation of distracting stimuli. In a between-subject design performance in this condition was contrasted with a control condition without distractors. Additionally, fixation time during stimuli presentation were quantified by tracking participants` gazes. Results revealed that children with higher interference control skills showed superior working memory performance. Increasing the need to inhibit attention towards task-irrelevant information through presentation of distractors decreased working memory performance. The present study offers supporting evidence for a close relationship between young children`s working memory and attention

Female preference for male color is necessary and sufficient for assortative mating in 2 cichlid sister species

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish: in two cichlid fish species beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Females choose mates based on colour, blue or red, and chemical cues but only colour triggers divergent female preferences. Reliance on one prime male characteristic may have facilitated speciation in this species-pair, but in murky waters the opportunity for visual communication is dim and the fate of the two species uncertai

Real-time sweat pH monitoring based on a wearable chemical barcode micro-fluidic platform incorporating ionic liquids

This work presents the fabrication, characterisation and the performance of a wearable, robust, flexible and disposable chemical barcode device based on a micro-fluidic platform that incorporates ionic liquid polymer gels (ionogels). The device has been applied to the monitoring of the pH of sweat in real time during an exercise period. The device is an ideal wearable sensor for measuring the pH of sweat since it does not contents any electronic part for fluidic handle or pH detection and because it can be directly incorporated into clothing, head- or wristbands, which are in continuous contact with the skin. In addition, due to the micro-fluidic structure, fresh sweat is continuously passing through the sensing area providing the capability to perform continuous real time analysis. The approach presented here ensures immediate feedback regarding sweat composition. Sweat analysis is attractive for monitoring purposes as it can provide physiological information directly relevant to the health and performance of the wearer without the need for an invasive sampling approac

RNA Sequencing-Based Genome Reannotation of the Dermatophyte Arthroderma benhamiae and Characterization of Its Secretome and Whole Gene Expression Profile during Infection.

Dermatophytes are the most common agents of superficial mycoses in humans and animals. The aim of the present investigation was to systematically identify the extracellular, possibly secreted, proteins that are putative virulence factors and antigenic molecules of dermatophytes. A complete gene expression profile of Arthroderma benhamiae was obtained during infection of its natural host (guinea pig) using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology. This profile was completed with those of the fungus cultivated in vitro in two media containing either keratin or soy meal protein as the sole source of nitrogen and in Sabouraud medium. More than 60% of transcripts deduced from RNA-seq data differ from those previously deposited for A. benhamiae. Using these RNA-seq data along with an automatic gene annotation procedure, followed by manual curation, we produced a new annotation of the A. benhamiae genome. This annotation comprised 7,405 coding sequences (CDSs), among which only 2,662 were identical to the currently available annotation, 383 were newly identified, and 15 secreted proteins were manually corrected. The expression profile of genes encoding proteins with a signal peptide in infected guinea pigs was found to be very different from that during in vitro growth when using keratin as the substrate. Especially, the sets of the 12 most highly expressed genes encoding proteases with a signal sequence had only the putative vacuolar aspartic protease gene PEP2 in common, during infection and in keratin medium. The most upregulated gene encoding a secreted protease during infection was that encoding subtilisin SUB6, which is a known major allergen in the related dermatophyte Trichophyton rubrum. IMPORTANCE Dermatophytoses (ringworm, jock itch, athlete's foot, and nail infections) are the most common fungal infections, but their virulence mechanisms are poorly understood. Combining transcriptomic data obtained from growth under various culture conditions with data obtained during infection led to a significantly improved genome annotation. About 65% of the protein-encoding genes predicted with our protocol did not match the existing annotation for A. benhamiae. Comparing gene expression during infection on guinea pigs with keratin degradation in vitro, which is supposed to mimic the host environment, revealed the critical importance of using real in vivo conditions for investigating virulence mechanisms. The analysis of genes expressed in vivo, encoding cell surface and secreted proteins, particularly proteases, led to the identification of new allergen and virulence factor candidates

Pharmacological targeting of the protein synthesis mTOR/4E-BP1 pathway in cancer-associated fibroblasts abrogates pancreatic tumourchemoresistance

International audiencePancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is extremely stroma-rich. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) secrete proteins that activate survival and promote chemoresistance of cancer cells. Our results demonstrate that CAF secretome-triggered chemoresistance is abolished upon inhibition of the protein synthesis mTOR/4E-BP1 regulatory pathway which we found highly activated in primary cultures of -SMA-positive CAFs, isolated from human PDAC resections. CAFs selectively express the sst1 somatostatin receptor. The SOM230 analogue (Pasireotide) activates the sst1 receptor and inhibits the mTOR/4E-BP1 pathway and the resultant synthesis of secreted proteins including IL-6. Consequently, tumour growth and chemoresistance in nude mice xenografted with pancreatic cancer cells and CAFs, or with pieces of resected human PDACs, are reduced when chemotherapy (gemcitabine) is combined with SOM230 treatment. While gemcitabine alone has marginal effects, SOM230 is permissive to gemcitabine-induced cancer cell apoptosis and acts as an antifibrotic agent. We propose that selective inhibition of CAF protein synthesis with sst1-directed pharmacological compounds represents an anti-stromal-targeted therapy with promising chemosensitization potential

Somatostatin receptors (version 2019.4) in the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology Database

Somatostatin (somatotropin release inhibiting factor) is an abundant neuropeptide, which acts on five subtypes of somatostatin receptor (SST1-SST5; nomenclature as agreed by the NC-IUPHAR Subcommittee on Somatostatin Receptors [89]). Activation of these receptors produces a wide range of physiological effects throughout the body including the inhibition of secretion of many hormones. Endogenous ligands for these receptors are somatostatin-14 (SRIF-14) and somatostatin-28 (SRIF-28). cortistatin-14 has also been suggested to be an endogenous ligand for somatostatin receptors [56]

Somatostatin receptors in GtoPdb v.2023.1

Somatostatin (somatotropin release inhibiting factor) is an abundant neuropeptide, which acts on five subtypes of somatostatin receptor (SST1-SST5; nomenclature as agreed by the NC-IUPHAR Subcommittee on Somatostatin Receptors [98]). Activation of these receptors produces a wide range of physiological effects throughout the body including the inhibition of secretion of many hormones. Endogenous ligands for these receptors are somatostatin-14 (SRIF-14) and somatostatin-28 (SRIF-28). cortistatin-14 has also been suggested to be an endogenous ligand for somatostatin receptors [61]

Diagnostic performance of line-immunoassay based algorithms for incident HIV-1 infection

Background: Serologic testing algorithms for recent HIV seroconversion (STARHS) provide important information for HIV surveillance. We have previously demonstrated that a patient's antibody reaction pattern in a confirmatory line immunoassay (INNO-LIA™ HIV I/II Score) provides information on the duration of infection, which is unaffected by clinical, immunological and viral variables. In this report we have set out to determine the diagnostic performance of Inno-Lia algorithms for identifying incident infections in patients with known duration of infection and evaluated the algorithms in annual cohorts of HIV notifications. Methods: Diagnostic sensitivity was determined in 527 treatment-naive patients infected for up to 12 months. Specificity was determined in 740 patients infected for longer than 12 months. Plasma was tested by Inno-Lia and classified as either incident (< = 12 m) or older infection by 26 different algorithms. Incident infection rates (IIR) were calculated based on diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of each algorithm and the rule that the total of incident results is the sum of true-incident and false-incident results, which can be calculated by means of the pre-determined sensitivity and specificity. Results: The 10 best algorithms had a mean raw sensitivity of 59.4% and a mean specificity of 95.1%. Adjustment for overrepresentation of patients in the first quarter year of infection further reduced the sensitivity. In the preferred model, the mean adjusted sensitivity was 37.4%. Application of the 10 best algorithms to four annual cohorts of HIV-1 notifications totalling 2'595 patients yielded a mean IIR of 0.35 in 2005/6 (baseline) and of 0.45, 0.42 and 0.35 in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. The increase between baseline and 2008 and the ensuing decreases were highly significant. Other adjustment models yielded different absolute IIR, although the relative changes between the cohorts were identical for all models Conclusions: The method can be used for comparing IIR in annual cohorts of HIV notifications. The use of several different algorithms in combination, each with its own sensitivity and specificity to detect incident infection, is advisable as this reduces the impact of individual imperfections stemming primarily from relatively low sensitivities and sampling bias