Weakly encoded memories due to acute sleep restriction can be rescued after one night of recovery sleep

Sleep is thought to play a complementary role in human memory processing: sleep loss impairs the formation of new memories during the following awake period and, conversely, normal sleep promotes the strengthening of the already encoded memories. However, whether sleep can strengthen deteriorated memories caused by insufficient sleep remains unknown. Here, we showed that sleep restriction in a group of participants caused a reduction in the stability of EEG activity patterns across multiple encoding of the same event during awake, compared with a group of participants that got a full night's sleep. The decrease of neural stability patterns in the sleep-restricted group was associated with higher slow oscillation-spindle coupling during a subsequent night of normal sleep duration, thereby suggesting the instantiation of restorative neural mechanisms adaptively supporting cognition and memory. Importantly, upon awaking, the two groups of participants showed equivalent retrieval accuracy supported by subtle differences in the reinstatement of encoding-related activity: it was longer lasting in sleep-restricted individuals than in controls. In addition, sustained reinstatement over time was associated with increased coupling between spindles and slow oscillations. Taken together, these results suggest that the strength of prior encoding might be an important moderator of memory consolidation during sleep. Supporting this view, spindles nesting in the slow oscillation increased the probability of correct recognition only for weakly encoded memories. Current results demonstrate the benefit that a full night's sleep can induce to impaired memory traces caused by an inadequate amount of sleep

Creación de réplicas de patrimonio escultórico mediante reconstrucción 3D e impresoras 3D de bajo coste para uso en entornos educativos

The process of making replicas of heritage has traditionally been developed by public agencies, corporations and museums and is not commonly used in schools. Currently there are technologies that allow creating cheap replicas. The new 3D reconstruction software, based on photographs and low cost 3D printers allow to make replicas at a cost much lower than traditional. This article describes the process of creating replicas of the sculpture Goslar Warrior of artist Henry Moore, located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. To make this process, first, a digital model have been created using Autodesk Recap 360, Autodesk 123D Catch and Autodesk Meshmixer MarkerBot MakerWare applications. Physical replication, has been reproduced in polylactic acid (PLA) by MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer. In addition, a cost analysis using, in one hand, the printer mentioned, and in the other hand, 3D printing services both online and local, is included. Finally, there has been a specific action with 141 students and 12 high school teachers, who filled a questionnary about the use of sculptural replicas in education.El proceso de elaboración de réplicas de patrimonio ha sido tradicionalmente desarrollado por organismos públicos, empresas o museos y no es de uso corriente en centros escolares. Actualmente existen tecnologías que permiten realizar réplicas de una manera muy económica. Los nuevos programas 3D basados en la reconstrucción a partir de fotografías y las impresoras 3D de bajo coste, permiten realizar maquetas del patrimonio con un importe muy inferior al tradicional. En este artículo se describe el proceso de creación de una réplica de la escultura El Guerrero de Goslar del artista Henry Moore, situada en Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Para realizar esta reproducción, primero se han creado modelos 3D digitales utilizando las aplicaciones Recap 360, 123D Catch, Meshmixer y MakerWare. La réplica física, se ha reproducido en ácido poliláctico (PLA) mediante la impresora 3D MakerBot Replicator 2. Además, se incluye un análisis de costes utilizando, por un lado la impresora mencionada, y por otro, servicios de impresión 3D, tanto online como locales. Para finalizar, se ha realizado una acción puntual con 141 alumnos y 12 profesores de secundaria a los que se les ha pasado una encuesta de opinión sobre el uso de réplicas escultóricas en educación

Structural and regulatory analysis of quorum sensing in Rhizobium leguminosarum

In the present work, we have studied the role of quorum-sensing regulatory systems in Rhizobium-legume symbiosis. Competition assays suggest that inactivation of quorum sensing systems significantly affects the competitiveness of Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae UPM791 (Rl UPM791) when compared to other strains. Structural analysis through HPLC / mass spectrometry revealed that the signals produced by Rl UPM791 correspond to: C6-HSL, C7-HSL, C8-HSL and 3OH-C14-HSL; also, small amounts of C4-HSL have been detected. We are also analyzing the complex regulation of AHL signal molecules. We have evidence indicating that an Rl UPM791 plasmid (pUPM791d) participates in a regulatory network acting on the chromosomal system cinRI. We are using concurrent strategies (sequencing of pUPM791d and random mutagenesis) to identify the mechanism responsible for the control of pUPM791d over AHL production in Rl UPM791

Effects of Nutrition on Cognitive Function in Adults with or without Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Clinical Trials

New dietary approaches for the prevention of cognitive impairment are being investigated. However, evidence from dietary interventions is mainly from food and nutrient supplement interventions, with inconsistent results and high heterogeneity between trials. We conducted a comprehensive systematic search of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in MEDLINE-PubMed, from January 2018 to July 2021, investigating the impact of dietary counseling, as well as food-based and dietary supplement interventions on cognitive function in adults with or without cognitive impairment. Based on the search strategy, 197 eligible publications were used for data abstraction. Finally, 61 articles were included in the analysis. There was reasonable evidence that dietary patterns, as well as food and dietary supplements improved cognitive domains or measures of brain integrity. The Mediterranean diet showed promising results, whereas the role of the DASH diet was not clear. Healthy food consumption improved cognitive function, although the quality of these studies was relatively low. The role of dietary supplements was mixed, with strong evidence of the benefits of polyphenols and combinations of nutrients, but with low evidence for PUFAs, vitamin D, specific protein, amino acids, and other types of supplements. Further well-designed RCTs are needed to guide the development of dietary approaches for the prevention of cognitive impairment

Three-dimensional portrait through the use of low-cost digital manufacturing technologies in educational environments

The study and representation of the shapes associated with the human body and the portrait is a part of the curriculum of the subjects of plastic, visual and audiovisual education in secondary education. Currently, the exercises are performed using traditional artistic techniques and in most cases in two-dimensional supports. When it comes to creating three-dimensional models, often it is used clay or other molding elements and construction techniques. This implies the need to have the specific materials and tools to elaborate them. In this article, an activity is presented for the creation of digital and physical three-dimensional portraits, whose objective is that it can be carried out in secondary education centers. For this, low-cost 3D technologies will be used that do not require specific training, accessible for teachers and students. This activity has been carried out with two groups of teachers and students during the academic year 2015-2016. The results shows that this activity is feasible in a school environment and that 3D portraits can be obtained at low cost.</p

Creating replicas of scultural heritage through 3D reconstruction and low cost 3D printer in Education

The process of making replicas of heritage has traditionally been developed by public agencies, corporations and museums and is not commonly used in schools. Currently there are technologies that allow creating cheap replicas. The new 3D reconstruction software, based on photographs and low cost 3D printers allow to make replicas at a cost much lower than traditional. This article describes the process of creating replicas of the sculpture Goslar Warrior of artist Henry Moore, located in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. To make this process, first, a digital model have been created using Autodesk Recap 360, Autodesk 123D Catch and Autodesk Meshmixer MarkerBot MakerWare applications. Physical replication, has been reproduced in polylactic acid (PLA) by MakerBot Replicator 2 3D printer. In addition, a cost analysis using, in one hand, the printer mentioned, and in the other hand, 3D printing services both online and local, is included. Finally, there has been a specific action with 141 students and 12 high school teachers, who filled a questionnary about the use of sculptural replicas in education.</p

Caracterización del sistema de regulación por densidad poblacional (quorum sensing) en Rhizobium leguminosarum

En este trabajo se han caracterizado las AHLs sintetizadas por Rl UPM791 mediante un análisis estructural llevado a cabo con HPLC y espectrometría de masas. En función de los patrones de fragmentación y los iones moleculares característicos, se han identificado en el sobrenadante de cultivos de esta cepa, las siguientes moléculas: C6-HSL, C7-HSL y C8-HSL, sintetizadas por el sistema rhiRI, y 3-OH-C14-HSL, sintetizada por el sistema cromosómico cinRI. Asimismo, se ha podido detectar la presencia de C4-HSL en pequeñas cantidades. Por otro lado,s se ha estudiado el papel de los sistemas de regulación por QS en la simbiosis Rhizobium-leguminosa. Para ello, se han realizado ensayos de competitividad por la nodulación de la raíz de guisante por cepas de Rl UPM791 y 3841 productoras de AHLs, y cepas derivadas de las mismas, pero desprovistas de AHLs

Ectopic overexpression of the cell wall invertase gene CIN1 leads to dehydration avoidance in tomato

Drought stress conditions modify source–sink relations, thereby influencing plant growth, adaptive responses, and consequently crop yield. Invertases are key metabolic enzymes regulating sink activity through the hydrolytic cleavage of sucrose into hexose monomers, thus playing a crucial role in plant growth and development. However, the physiological role of invertases during adaptation to abiotic stress conditions is not yet fully understood. Here it is shown that plant adaptation to drought stress can be markedly improved in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) by overexpression of the cell wall invertase (cwInv) gene CIN1 from Chenopodium rubrum. CIN1 overexpression limited stomatal conductance under normal watering regimes, leading to reduced water consumption during the drought period, while photosynthetic activity was maintained. This caused a strong increase in water use efficiency (up to 50%), markedly improving water stress adaptation through an efficient physiological strategy of dehydration avoidance. Drought stress strongly reduced cwInv activity and induced its proteinaceous inhibitor in the leaves of the wild-type plants. However, the CIN1-overexpressing plants registered 3- to 6-fold higher cwInv activity in all analysed conditions. Surprisingly, the enhanced invertase activity did not result in increased hexose concentrations due to the activation of the metabolic carbohydrate fluxes, as reflected by the maintenance of the activity of key enzymes of primary metabolism and increased levels of sugar-phosphate intermediates under water deprivation. The induced sink metabolism in the leaves explained the maintenance of photosynthetic activity, delayed senescence, and increased source activity under drought stress. Moreover, CIN1 plants also presented a better control of production of reactive oxygen species and sustained membrane protection. Those metabolic changes conferred by CIN1 overexpression were accompanied by increases in the concentrations of the senescence-delaying hormone trans-zeatin and decreases in the senescence-inducing ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) in the leaves. Thus, cwInv critically functions at the integration point of metabolic, hormonal, and stress signals, providing a novel strategy to overcome drought-induced limitations to crop yield, without negatively affecting plant fitness under optimal growth conditions.FPA and co-workers are funded by the Spanish MICINN-FEDER (projects AT2009-0038 and AGL2011-27996) and the European Commission (ROOTOPOWER Contract # 289365). TR and FPA were jointly funded by the Spanish–Austrian bilateral project AT2009-0038. AA was supported by post-doctoral fellowships from the Fundación Séneca (Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia) and the FWF (Austrian Science Fund), and currently by the JAE DOC Programme

Unmasking selective path integration deficits inAlzheimer’s disease risk carriers

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) manifests with progressive memory loss and spatial disorientation. Neuropathological studies suggest early AD pathology in the entorhinal cortex (EC) of young adults at genetic risk for AD (APOE4-carriers). Because the EC harbors grid cells, a likely neural substrate of path integration (PI), we examined PI performance in APOE4-carriers during a virtual navigation task. We report a selective impairment in APOE4-carriers specifically when recruitment of compensatory navigational strategies via supportive spatial cues was disabled. A separate fMRI study revealed that PI performance was associated with the strength of entorhinal grid-like representations when no compensatory strategies were available, suggesting grid cell dysfunction as a mechanistic explanation for PI deficits in APOE4-carriers. Furthermore, posterior cingulate/retrosplenial cortex was involved in the recruitment of compensatory navigational strategies via supportive spatial cues. Our results provide evidence for selective PI deficits in AD risk carriers, decades before potential disease onset