Representation of foreseeable choice outcomes in orbitofrontal cortex triplet-wise interactions.

Shared neuronal variability has been shown to modulate cognitive processing. However, the relationship between shared variability and behavioral performance is heterogeneous and complex in frontal areas such as the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Mounting evidence shows that single-units in OFC encode a detailed cognitive map of task-space events, but the existence of a robust neuronal ensemble coding for the predictability of choice outcome is less established. Here, we hypothesize that the coding of foreseeable outcomes is potentially unclear from the analysis of units activity and their pairwise correlations. However, this code might be established more conclusively when higher-order neuronal interactions are mapped to the choice outcome. As a case study, we investigated the trial-to-trial shared variability of neuronal ensemble activity during a two-choice interval-discrimination task in rodent OFC, specifically designed such that a lose-switch strategy is optimal by repeating the rewarded stimulus in the upcoming trial. Results show that correlations among triplets are higher during correct choices with respect to incorrect ones, and that this is sustained during the entire trial. This effect is not observed for pairwise nor for higher than third-order correlations. This scenario is compatible with constellations of up to three interacting units assembled during trials in which the task is performed correctly. More interestingly, a state-space spanned by such constellations shows that only correct outcome states that can be successfully predicted are robust over 100 trials of the task, and thus they can be accurately decoded. However, both incorrect and unpredictable outcome representations were unstable and thus non-decodeable, due to spurious negative correlations. Our results suggest that predictability of successful outcomes, and hence the optimal behavioral strategy, can be mapped out in OFC ensemble states reliable over trials of the task, and revealed by sufficiency complex neuronal interactions

Las fuentes históricas en al Bachillerato Internacional y el libro digital. Caso práctico: la Guerra de los Ochenta años

El presente libro analiza el trato que se le da a las fuentes históricas en la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y en especial, en el Bachillerato Internacional. A lo largo de dicho análisis se pone de manifiesto que el uso de las fuentes en las aulas beneficia el aprendizaje de la asignatura de Historia y favorece su comprensión. Además, dada la tendencia a la digitalización de los centros educativos y el fácil acceso a las fuentes a través de Internet, en la parte final se incluye un ejemplo de libro digital, asociado a una web, sobre uno de los temas de Historia que propone el Bachillerato Internacional con enlaces a múltiples fuentes.The aim of this book is to analyse the treatment given to historical sources in compulsory secondary education and, especially, in the International Baccalaureate. Throughout this analysis we observed the benefits of using historical sources in secondary schools, which favours a deeper understanding of History. Additionally, considering the digitalization trend of schools and the accessibility to sources through the Internet, the final part includes an example of a digital book, associated with a website, about one of the topics of History proposed by the International Baccalaureate with links to multiple sources

Uncertainty aversion predicts the neural expansion of semantic representations

Correctly identifying the meaning of a stimulus requires activating the appropriate semantic representation among many alternatives. One way to reduce this uncertainty is to differentiate semantic representations from each other, thereby expanding the semantic space. Here, in four experiments, we test this semantic-expansion hypothesis, finding that uncertainty-averse individuals exhibit increasingly differentiated and separated semantic representations. This effect is mirrored at the neural level, where uncertainty aversion predicts greater distances between activity patterns in the left inferior frontal gyrus when reading words, and enhanced sensitivity to the semantic ambiguity of these words in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Two direct tests of the behavioural consequences of semantic expansion further reveal that uncertainty-averse individuals exhibit reduced semantic interference and poorer generalization. Together, these findings show that the internal structure of our semantic representations acts as an organizing principle to make the world more identifiable.Social decision makin

Very High Resolution Solar X-ray Imaging Using Diffractive Optics

This paper describes the development of X-ray diffractive optics for imaging solar flares with better than 0.1 arcsec angular resolution. X-ray images with this resolution of the \geq10 MK plasma in solar active regions and solar flares would allow the cross-sectional area of magnetic loops to be resolved and the coronal flare energy release region itself to be probed. The objective of this work is to obtain X-ray images in the iron-line complex at 6.7 keV observed during solar flares with an angular resolution as fine as 0.1 arcsec - over an order of magnitude finer than is now possible. This line emission is from highly ionized iron atoms, primarily Fe xxv, in the hottest flare plasma at temperatures in excess of \approx10 MK. It provides information on the flare morphology, the iron abundance, and the distribution of the hot plasma. Studying how this plasma is heated to such high temperatures in such short times during solar flares is of critical importance in understanding these powerful transient events, one of the major objectives of solar physics. We describe the design, fabrication, and testing of phase zone plate X-ray lenses with focal lengths of \approx100 m at these energies that would be capable of achieving these objectives. We show how such lenses could be included on a two-spacecraft formation-flying mission with the lenses on the spacecraft closest to the Sun and an X-ray imaging array on the second spacecraft in the focal plane \approx100 m away. High resolution X-ray images could be obtained when the two spacecraft are aligned with the region of interest on the Sun. Requirements and constraints for the control of the two spacecraft are discussed together with the overall feasibility of such a formation-flying mission

Biological aspects of little tunny Euthynnus alletteratus from Spanish and Portuguese waters.

This study provides information on some biological aspects of Euthynnus alletteratus from the western Mediterranean (Spanish coast) and in the Atlantic Ocean (south of Iberian Peninsula). A total of 1266 individuals were measured between 2003 and 2017. The L-W relationship was calculated with W equal to 0.01242 FL3.058 . Histological analysis of the ovaries and the monthly variation of the gonadosomatic index for both sexes suggested that the spawning season for Euthynnus alletteratus in the western Mediterranean Sea takes place from June to August. The lengths at first maturity (L50) were estimated to be 50.1 cm and 43.4 cm FL for female and male, respectively. Age at first maturity (A50) was calculated

¿Es el ligamento redondo de la cadera un vestigio? Análisis inmunohistoquímico de la inervación del ligamento redondo de la cadera

Studies of the round hip ligament since the 19th century have been considered a vestige in the adult, others recent suggest its participation in nociception and proprioception of the hip. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the presence of nervous tissue in the round ligament by immunohistochemistry. Between July 2016 and February 2017, round ligament excision of 10 patients undergoing joint replacement surgery was performed for several reasons. Subsequently they were evaluated histologically and immunohistochemically. Samples were composed of a synovial layer of cuboidal cells, underlying connective tissue composed of collagen fibers and a surrounding fat layer, nerve endings were present in all specimens. The round ligament should not be considered as a vestige. Our study found nerve endings in the 10 specimens (100%). Our findings suggest its implication in nociception and proprioception

EFFECTS OF ICCAT Rec [2016-05] SIZE REGULATION ON THE DISCARDS OF THE SPANISH LONGLINE FISHERY TARGETING SWORDFISH (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758) IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEA

The ICCAT Commission, at its meeting on November 2016, approved a multi-annual recovery plan for the Mediterranean swordfish starting in 2017 and continuing through 2031 (ICCAT Rec [2016-05]). Among other provisions, the recovery plan proscribed a minimum landing size (MLS) of 100 cm (lower-jaw fork length- LJFL), which is 10 cm higher than the previously implemented (ICCAT Rec [2013-04]). The aim of this study is to assess the effect of the recently implemented MLS on the swordfish discarding activities by the Spanish surface longline fishery operating in the western Mediterranean for the period 2015-2017. Our results show that: i) as compared to the former MLS (ICCAT Rec [2013-04]), a higher percentage of undersized dead fish is now discarded at sea, with the additional risk that does not be reported and taken into consideration during the assessment of the stock; ii) the amount of fishing effort (number of hooks) for fulfilling the allocated quota has increased; iii) the fishing season must be longer to achieve the allocated quota. Both the increase in fishing effort and the lengthening of the fishing season have an adverse effect on the economic profitability of the surface longline fleet without achieving the intended reduction in the fishing mortality exerted on the juvenile fraction of the Mediterranean swordfish stock

STANDARDIZED CATCH RATES OF ALBACORE (THUNNUS ALALUNGA BONNATERRE, 1788) IN THE SPANISH SURFACE LONGLINE FISHERY IN THE WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN IN THE PERIOD 2009-2019

Standardized relative abundance indices of albacore (Thunnus alalunga Bonnaterre, 1788) caught by the Spanish surface longline (LLALB) in the western Mediterranean Sea were estimated for the period 2009-2019. Yearly standardized CPUE were estimated through Generalized Linear Mixed Effects Models (GLMM) under a negative binomial error distribution assumption. The main factors in the standardization analysis were year and season (quarter). The index shows an increasing trend from the beginning of the series (2009) to a maximum in 2011; following a decrease up to 2013, and a relatively stable trend fluctuating around a level three and a half times lower compared to the maximum abundance for the period 2013-2019.En prens

Macroscopic and microscopic maturity stages. living working document for small tuna species.

Maturity ogives are usually estimated using different methods, including macroscopical and microscopical maturity data. Differences in maturity ogives estimations are found for species and by area/stock. So those differences may be a consequence of the use of different methodological techniques (criteria) or due to different spawning tactics. Taking this into account is essential to guarantee that the maturity criteria for each species are consistent across the laboratories and countries involved in stock assessment. The objective of this document is to show a large amount of detailed photos (macro and microphotographs) of the different gonad stages of Auxis rochei, Sarda sarda and Euthynnus alletteratus, for females and males, which will be an enhancement to the descriptions of maturity stages given in the maturity tables

Standardized catch rates for Mediterranean swordfish (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758) from the Spanish longline fishery. 1988-2017.

Standardized relative abundance indices for swordfish (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758) caught by the Spanish surface longline in the western Mediterranean Sea were estimated for the period 1988-2017. Standardized CPUEs were estimated through a General Linear Mixed Modeling (GLMM) approach under a negative binomial (NB) error distribution assumption. The main factors in the standardization analysis were fishing area and time of the year (quarter). The standardized index showed notable annual fluctuations without any definite trend for the period under study