Lexical processing of ambiguous words: dominance or associative strength?

Four experiments examined the role of meaning frequency (dominance) and associative strength (measured by associative norms) in the processing of ambiguous words in isolation. Participants made lexical decisions to targets words that were associates of the more frequent (dominant) or less frequent (subordinate) meaning of a homograph prime. The first two experiments investigated the role of associative strength at long SOAs (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony) (750 ms.), showing that meaning is facilitated by the targets’ associative strength and not by their dominance. The last two experiments traced the role associativestrength at short SOAs (250 ms), showing that the manipulation of the associative strength has no effect in the semantic priming. The conclusions are: on the one hand, semantic priming for homographs is due to associative strength manipulations at long SOAs. On the other hand, the manipulation of the associative strength has no effect when automatic processes (short SOAs) are engaged for homographs.A través de cuatro experimentos, se examinó el papel de la frecuencia del significado (dominancia) y de la fuerza asociativa (medida mediante normas asociativas) en el procesamiento de palabras ambiguas aisladas. Los participantes tomaron decisiones léxicas acerca de palabras meta que eran las asociadas del significado más frecuente (dominante) o menos frecuente (subordinado) de un homógrafo primo. Los primeros dos experimentos investigaron el papel de la fuerza asociativa en las SOAs (asincronía del comienzo del estímulo) largas (750 ms), demostrando que el significado se ve facilitado por la fuerza asociativa de la meta y no por su dominancia. Los segundos experimentos trazaron el papel de la fuerza asociativa en las SOAs cortas (250 ms), demostrando que la manipulación de la fuerza asociativa no influye en la ceba semántica. Se concluye que: (a) la ceba semántica para homográficos se debe a las manipulaciones de la fuerza asociativa en las SOAs largas y (b) la manipulación de la fuerza asociativa no tiene ningún efecto cuando los procesos automáticos (SOAs cortas) están ocupados para los homógrafos

El riego del olivar en la provincia de Jaén. I. Metodología para el establecimiento de un inventario de riegos

[ES] El incremento desmesurado de las puestas en riego del olivar en la provincia de Jaén durante los últimos cinco años, como consecuencia de la sequía, ha motivado el presente trabajo cuyos resultados deben servir para su control y ordenación. En primer lugar, se ha desarrollado la metodología necesaria para el establecimiento de un inventario de los riegos existentes. Posteriormente, se han caracterizado los riegos diferenciando según método de riego usado (superficie, aspersión o localizado), procedencia del agua (superficial, subterránea o residual) y agrupación o no en Comunidades de Regantes (CCRR). Los resultados demuestran una tendencia cada vez mayor hacia la aplicación de agua mediante riegos localizados, usando, fundamentalmente, agua de origen superficial. No obstante, el empleo de aguas subterráneas y residuales aumenta notablemente en épocas de escasez. La agrupación en CCRR es la situación más frecuente de los agricultores.El presente trabajo ha sido posible gracias al convenio firmado con la Consejería de Agricultura de la Junta de Andalucía titulado "Estudio de Mejora y Modernización de los Regadíos del Olivar en las Comarcas de El Condado, La Loma, Sierra Mágina, Sierra de Cazarla y Sierra de Segura en la Provincia de Jaén". Esta colaboración es muy apreciada. La realización de un trabajo de este tipo, eminentemente práctico, que ha exigido múltiples visitas a la provincia de Jaén durante unos treinta meses y en el que se han manejado una gran cantidad de datos, requiere de la colaboración de muchas personas cuya participación ha sido fundamental en una o varias fases del proceso. Entre ellos, no podemos olvidar a Miguel Alcaide, Juan Reca, Jorge Pérez Luccna, Emilio Carnacho, Francisco Roldan, José Antonio Checa, José Vico, Alicia Patino y Félix de la Poza.Rojas, R.; Roldán Cañas, J.; Romero, A.; Hidalgo, J. (1995). El riego del olivar en la provincia de Jaén. I. Metodología para el establecimiento de un inventario de riegos. Ingeniería del Agua. 2(4):59-66. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.1995.2687SWORD596624Barranco, D. (1994). Las principales variedades de olivo en España. Documentación facilitada en el Curso Internacional de Olivicultura organizado por el C.O.I., Córdoba.Departamento de Edafología (1987). Memoria del mapa de suelos de la provincia de Jaén (escala 1:200.000). Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Granada.Hidalgo, J.J. (1994). Estudio de mejora de la aplicación del agua en las comarcas de La Loma y El Condado en la provincia de Jaén. Trabajo Profesional Fin de Carrera, Escuela Técnica uperior de Ingenieros Agrónomos y de Montes, Universidad de Córdoba.MAPA (1986). Mapa de cultivos y aprovechamientos de la provincia de Jaén (E: 1/200.000).MAPA. (1989). Mapa de cultivos y aprovechamientos de la provincia de Jaén. Dirección General de la Producción Agraria, Madrid.Rojas, R. (1995). Evaluación de usos y demandas hídricas en el riego del olivar en las comarcas de Sierra de Cazorla y Sierra de Segura en la provincia de Jaén. Trabajo Profesional Fin de Carrera, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos y de Montes, Universidad de Córdoba.Romero, A.H. (1995). Usos y recursos hídricos en los regadíos del olivar en la provincia de Jaén. Aplicación a la comarca de Sierra Mágina. Trabajo Profesional Fin de Carrera, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos y de Montes, Universidad de Córdoba

Sobre la relación entre la ergonomía y psicología cognitivas

This study describes the,field of cognitive ergonomics and discussesthe relation between this discipline and cognitive psychology. We argue against the view commonly held by scientists that cognitive ergonomics is merely the applied science of cognitive psychology and describe studies that support the role of cognitive ergonomics as a basic science. Finally, we propose a conceptual framework for the work of the cognitive ergonomist, in order to promote joint research projects involving cognitive ergonomics and cognitive psychology.En el presente trabajo se describe el ámbito y el modo de trabajo de la ergonomia cognitiva, para a continuación ahondar en la relación entre la ergonomia y la psicologia cognitiva. En este sentido, se discute la visión extendida en el ámbito científico que concibe a la ergonomia cognitiva como simple ciencia aplicada de la psicologia cognitiva. Para contrarrestar esta visión se defiende el papel de la ergonomia cognitiva como ciencia generadora de conocimiento. Finalmente, se presenta un marco conceptual sobre el trabajo del ergónomo cognitivo con el objetivo de facilitar el desarrollo de lineas de investigación conjuntas entre la ergonomia y psicologia cognitivas

Predictive potential of SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater to assess the dynamics of COVID-19 clinical outcomes and infections

Coronavirus disease 2019 -caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-, has trig-gered a worldwide pandemic resulting in 665 million infections and over 6.5 million deaths as of December 15, 2022. The development of different epidemiological tools have helped predict new outbreaks and assess the behavior of clinical variables in different health contexts. In this study, we aimed to monitor concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater as a tool to predict the progression of clinical variables during Waves 3, 5, and 6 of the pandemic in the Spanish city of Xativa from September 2020 to March 2022. We estimated SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in 195 wastewater samples using the RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel vali-dated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. We also compared the trends of several clinical variables (14-day cumulative incidence, positive cases, hospital cases and stays, critical cases and stays, primary care visits, and deaths) for each study wave against wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations using Pearson's product-moment correlations, a two-sided Mann-Whitney U test, and a cross-correlation analysis. We found strong correlations between SARS-CoV-2 concentrations with 14-day cumulative incidence and positive cases over time. Wastewater RNA concentrations showed strong correlations with these variables one and two weeks in advance. There were significant correlations with hospitalizations and critical care during Wave 3 and Wave 6; cross-correlations were stronger for hospitalization stays one week before during Wave 6. No association between vaccination percentages and wastewater viral concentrations was observed. Our findings support wastewater SARS-CoV-2 concentrations as a potential surveillance tool to anticipate infection and epidemiological data such as 14-day cumulative incidence, hospitalizations, and critical care stays. Public health authorities could use this epidemiological tool on a similar population as an aid for health care decision-making during an epidemic outbreakThis research was funded by the Valencian International University and Generalitat Valenciana (GVA) through the Grants to emerging research groups 2023 (CE2023) from the Regional Ministry of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society (CIGE/2022/58).Medicin

Topical application of a peptide inhibitor of transforming growth factor-beta1 ameliorates bleomycin-induced skin fibrosis

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of skin fibrotic diseases. Systemic TGF-beta inhibitors effectively inhibit fibrosis in different animal models; however, systemic inhibition of TGF-beta raises important safety issues because of the pleiotropic physiological effects of this factor. In this study, we have investigated whether topical application of P144 (a peptide inhibitor of TGF-beta1) ameliorates skin fibrosis in a well-characterized model of human scleroderma. C3H mice received daily subcutaneous injections of bleomycin for 4 wk, and were treated daily with either a lipogel containing P144 or control vehicle. Topical application of P144 significantly reduced skin fibrosis and soluble collagen content. Most importantly, in mice with established fibrosis, topical treatment with P144 lipogel for 2 wk significantly decreased skin fibrosis and soluble collagen content. Immunohistochemical studies in P144-treated mice revealed a remarkable suppression of connective tissue growth factor expression, fibroblast SMAD2/3 phosphorylation, and alpha-smooth muscle actin positive myofibroblast development, whereas mast cell and mononuclear cell infiltration was not modified. These data suggest that topical application of P144, a peptide inhibitor of TGF-beta1, is a feasible strategy to treat pathological skin scarring and skin fibrotic diseases for which there is no specific therapy

Basophil Activation Test Utility as a Diagnostic Tool in LTP Allergy

Plant-food allergy is an increasing problem, with nonspecific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) triggering mild/severe reactions. Pru p 3 is the major sensitizer in LTP food allergy (FA). However, in vivo and in vitro diagnosis is hampered by the need for differentiating between asymptomatic sensitization and allergy with clinical relevance. The basophil activation test (BAT) is an ex vivo method able to identify specific IgE related to the allergic response. Thus, we aimed to establish the value of BAT in a precise diagnosis of LTP-allergic patients. Ninety-two individuals with peach allergy sensitized to LTP, Pru p 3, were finally included, and 40.2% of them had symptoms to peanut (n = 37). In addition, 16 healthy subjects were recruited. BAT was performed with Pru p 3 and Ara h 9 (peanut LTP) at seven ten-fold concentrations, and was evaluated by flow cytometry, measuring the percentage of CD63 (%CD63+) and CD203c (%CD203chigh) cells, basophil allergen threshold sensitivity (CD-Sens), and area under the dose–response curve (AUC). Significant changes in BAT parameters (%CD63+ and %CD203chigh) were found between the controls and patients. However, comparisons for %CD63+, %CD203chigh, AUC, and CD-Sens showed similar levels among patients with different symptoms. An optimal cut-off was established from ROC curves, showing a significant positive percentage of BAT in patients compared to controls and great values of sensitivity (>87.5%) and specificity (>85%). In addition, BAT showed differences in LTP-allergic patients tolerant to peanut using its corresponding LTP, Ara h 9. BAT can be used as a potential diagnostic tool for identifying LTP allergy and for differentiating peanut tolerance, although neither reactivity nor sensitivity can distinguish the severity of the clinical symptoms.Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga. This research was funded by grants from the “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” (ISCIII) of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness: PI17/01318, PI18/00288, PI21/00346, AC18/00031; RETICS ARADyAL (RD16/0006/0001, RD16/0006/0007); Sara Borrell (CD20/00085) Program; RICORS (RD21/0002/0008, RD21/0002/0058); and Next Generation EU funds. Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health (PE-0039-2018, RH-0085-2020, and PI-0099-2020), Senior Clinical Researcher Program (B-0005-2019), and Nicolas Monardes Program (RC-0004-2021). Roche Pharma S.A. “Stop Fuga de Cerebros” Program (SFC-0002-2020). Grants were co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). “Una manera de hacer Europa” “Andalucía se mueve con Europa”

Aplicación de las técnicas de teledetección y SIG a la determinación y análisis de mapas de evapotranspiración

[ES] La estimación de la evapotranspiración es esencial en los sistemas de riego, en el cálculo de pérdidas de agua en embalses, en la estimación de balances hídricos, en las predicciones de escorrentía, así como en estudios climatológicos y meteorológicos. Las nuevas técnicas denominadas teledetección y sistemas de información geográfica (SIG) permiten el cálculo de la distribución espacial de este parámetro. Un nuevo modelo racional, SEBAL (Bastiaanssen, 1995), basado en la ecuación de conservación de la energía, ha sido aplicado en el estudio que se presenta. En este modelo se ha reducido el número de relaciones empíricas, además de presentar otras ventajas. El modelo ha sido calibrado y validado en una zona localizada en el Valle del Guadalquivir (España), a partir de una imagen del satélite Landsat-TM5 y de información climática. Posteriormente, el modelo ha sido utilizado con una resolución menor que la original por medio de un procedimiento de agregación de la imagen TM original. Este cambio en la resolución fue adoptado al objeto de comprobar la posible utilización de otras clases de imagen de satélite (por ejemplo, el NOAA). La evapotranspiración y otras variables obtenidas por teledetección se relacionan con ciertas características superficiales, por medio del uso de mapas de cultivos, suelos y mapas digitales de elevación del área de estudio.Se agradece a M. Menenti y W.G.M. Bastiaanssen del Department of Water Management in Arid Zones (DLO-Winand Staring Centre, Wageningen. The Netherlands) y sus colaboradores, todos los comentarios y material proporcionado para determinar la ET usando imágenes Landsat.Reca Cardeña, J.; Medina, JL.; Camacho, EF.; López, R.; Roldán Cañas, J. (1999). Aplicación de las técnicas de teledetección y SIG a la determinación y análisis de mapas de evapotranspiración. Ingeniería del Agua. 6(1):63-68. https://doi.org/10.4995/ia.1999.2778SWORD636861Bastiaanssen, W.G.M. y M. Menenti (1989). Surface reflectance and surface temperature in relation with soil type and regional energy fluxes. In: A.F. Bouwman (ed.). Soils and the greenhouse effect. John Wiley & Sons. Chichester, Reino Unido. 541 -549.Bastiaanssen, W.G.M. (1995). Regionalization of surface flux densities and moisture indicators in composite terrain. A remote sensing approach under clear skies in Mediterranean climates. Doctoral thesis, Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen. Holanda. 273 pp.Camacho, E. (1991). Estudio de recursos agrarios del término municipal de Aguilar de la Frontera. Sin publicar.ERDAS Imagine 8.2. User ManualESRI. (1990). Understanting GIS. The ARC/INFO Method. Esri. New York.ILWIS 1.4 User Manual (1993). The Integrated Land and Water Information System. ITC. Enschede, HolandaMedina, J.L; E. Camacho; R. López Luque. y J. Reca. (1996). Determinación de la ET con empleo de imágenes Landsat-TM5 y su agregación a resolución NOAA-AVHRR. (Aguadulce, Almería, 11-13 de junio de 1996).Medina Minuesa, J.L. (1996). Determinación y análisis de la evapotranspiración a nivel regional mediante teledetección y sistemas de información geográfica. Trabajo Profesional Fin de Carrera, ETSIAM, Córdoba.Medina J.L; E. Camacho; J. Reca; R. López y J. Roldán. (1998). Determination and analysis of regional evapotranspiration in Southern Spain based on remote sensing and GIS. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 23(4):427-432.Menenti, M., W.G.M. Bastiaanssen, D. van Eick y M.A. Abd El Karim (1989). Linear relationship between surface reflectance and temperature and their application to map evaporation of groundwater. in: Adv. Space Research. Volumen 9, No 1, 165-176.Price, J.C. (1980). The potential of remotely sensed thermal infrared data to infer surface soil moisture and evaporation. Water Resour. Res., 16, 787-795.Roerink, G. (1994). The impact of satellite sensor resolution on the regional evaporation statistics in large-scale irrigation schemes. A case study in the Mendoza Province, Argentine. Interne medeling 312. DLO Windand Staring Centre, Wageningen. Holanda.Reca, J.; J. Roldán; M. Alcaide y E. Camacho (1996). Perspectivas de la teledetección en zonas regables. Riegos y Drenajes XXI. 89:34-39

Deep Phenotypic Characterisation of CTCs by Combination of Microfluidic Isolation (IsoFlux) and Imaging Flow Cytometry (ImageStream)

Ines Aznar-Peralta holds a "Garantia Juvenil" fellowship (contract number 8040), and M. Carmen Garrido-Navas has a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness, Enterprises and Universities (DOC_01682).The isolation of circulating tumour cells (CTCs) in colorectal cancer (CRC) mostly relies on the expression of epithelial markers such as EpCAM, and phenotypic characterisation is usually performed under fluorescence microscopy with only one or two additional markers. This limits the ability to detect different CTC subpopulations based on multiple markers. The aim of this work was to develop a novel protocol combining two platforms (IsoFluxTM and ImageStream®X) to improve CTC evaluation. Cancer cell lines and peripheral blood from healthy donors were used to evaluate the efficiency of each platform independently and in combination. Peripheral blood was extracted from 16 early CRC patients (before loco-regional surgery) to demonstrate the suitability of the protocol for CTC assessment. Additionally, peripheral blood was extracted from nine patients one month after surgery to validate the utility of our protocol for identifying CTC subpopulation changes over time. Results: Our protocol had a mean recovery efficiency of 69.5% and a limit of detection of at least four cells per millilitre. We developed an analysis method to reduce noise from magnetic beads used for CTC isolation. CTCs were isolated from CRC patients with a median of 37 CTCs (IQ 13.0–85.5) at baseline. CTCs from CRC patients were significantly (p < 0.0001) larger than cytokeratin (CK)-negative cells, and patients were stratified into two groups based on BRAFV600E and PD-L1 expression on CK-positive cells. The changes observed over time included not only the number of CTCs but also their distribution into four different subpopulations defined according to BRAFV600E and PD-L1 positivity. We developed a novel protocol for semi-automatic CTC isolation and phenotypic characterisation by combining two platforms. Assessment of CTCs from early CRC patients using our protocol allowed the identification of two clusters of patients with changing phenotypes over time."Garantia Juvenil" fellowship 8040Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness, Enterprises and Universities DOC_0168

Serum micrornas as tool to predict early response to benralizumab in severe eosinophilic asthma

Severe eosinophilic asthma poses a serious health and economic problem, so new therapy approaches have been developed to control it, including biological drugs such as benralizumab, which is a monoclonal antibody that binds to IL-5 receptor alpha subunit and depletes peripheral blood eosinophils rapidly. Biomarkers that predict the response to this drug are needed so that microRNAs (miRNAs) can be useful tools. This study was performed with fifteen severe eosinophilic asthmatic patients treated with benralizumab, and serum miRNAs were evaluated before and after treatment by semi-quantitative PCR (qPCR). Patients showed a clinical improvement after benralizumab administration. Additionally, deregulation of miR-1246, miR-5100 and miR-338-3p was observed in severe asthmatic patients after eight weeks of therapy, and a correlation was found between miR-1246 and eosinophil counts, including a number of exacerbations per year in these severe asthmatics. In silico pathway analysis revealed that these three miRNAs are regulators of the MAPK signaling pathway, regulating target genes implicated in asthma such as NFKB2, NFATC3, DUSP1, DUSP2, DUSP5 and DUSP16. In this study, we observed an altered expression of miR-1246, miR-5100 and miR-338-3p after eight weeks of benralizumab administration, which could be used as early response markers.This manuscript was funded by Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria–FIS and FEDER (Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional) [PI15/00803, PI18/00044, and FI16/00036], CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Merck Health Foundation funds, and Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (RTC-2017-6501-1