Grasping the semantic of actions: a combined behavioral and MEG study

There is experimental evidence that the brain systems involved in action execution also play a role in action observation and understanding. Recently, it has been suggested that the sensorimotor system is also involved in language processing. Supporting results are slower response times and weaker motor-related MEG Beta band power suppression in semantic decision tasks on single action verbs labels when the stimulus and the motor response involve the same effector. Attenuated power suppression indicates decreased cortical excitability and consequent decreased readiness to act. The embodied approach forwards that the simultaneous involvement of the sensorimotor system in the processing of the linguistic content and in the planning of the response determines this language-motor interference effect. Here, in a combined behavioral and MEG study we investigated to what extent the processing of actions visually presented (i.e., pictures of actions) and verbally described (i.e., verbs in written words) share common neural mechanisms. The findings demonstrated that, whether an action is experienced visually or verbally, its processing engages the sensorimotor system in a comparable way. These results provide further support to the embodied view of semantic processing, suggesting that this process is independent from the modality of presentation of the stimulus, including language

The Semantics of Natural Objects and Tools in the Brain: A Combined Behavioral and MEG Study

Current literature supports the notion that the recognition of objects, when visually pre-sented, is sub-served by neural structures different from those responsible for the semantic processing of their nouns. However, embodiment foresees that processing observed objects and their verbal labels should share similar neural mechanisms. In a combined behavioral and MEG study, we com-pared the modulation of motor responses and cortical rhythms during the processing of graspable natural objects and tools, either verbally or pictorially presented. Our findings demonstrate that conveying meaning to an observed object or processing its noun similarly modulates both motor responses and cortical rhythms; being natural graspable objects and tools differently represented in the brain, they affect in a different manner both behavioral and MEG findings, independent of presentation modality. These results provide experimental evidence that neural substrates responsible for conveying meaning to objects overlap with those where the object is represented, thus supporting an embodied view of semantic processing

Magnetic breakdown in a normal-metal - superconductor proximity sandwich

We study the magnetic response of a clean normal-metal slab of finite thickness in proximity with a bulk superconductor. We determine its free energy and identify two (meta-)stable states, a diamagnetic one where the applied field is effectively screened, and a second state, where the field penetrates the normal-metal layer. We present a complete characterization of the first order transition between the two states which occurs at the breakdown field, including its spinodals, the jump in the magnetization, and the latent heat. The bistable regime terminates at a critical temperature above which the sharp transition is replaced by a continuous cross-over. We compare the theory with experiments on normal-superconducting cylinders.Comment: 7 pages Revtex, 3 Postscript figures, needs psfig.te

Role of microRNAs in the main molecular pathways of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver malignant neoplasia. HCC is characterized by a poor prognosis. The need to find new molecular markers for its diagnosis and prognosis has led to a progressive increase in the number of scientific studies on this topic. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA that play a role in almost all main cellular pathways. miRNAs are involved in the regulation of expression of the major tumor-related genes in carcinogenesis, acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes. The aim of this review was to identify papers published in 2017 investigating the role of miRNAs in HCC tumorigenesis. miRNAs were classified according to their role in the main molecular pathways involved in HCC tumorigenesis: (1) mTOR; (2) Wnt; (3) JAK/STAT; (4) apoptosis; and (5) MAPK. The role of miRNAs in prognosis/response prediction was taken into consideration. Bearing in mind that the analysis of miRNAs in serum and other body fluids would be crucial for clinical management, the role of circulating miRNAs in HCC patients was also investigated. The most represented miRNA-regulated pathway in HCC is mTOR, but apoptosis, Wnt, JAK/STAT or MAPK pathways are also influenced by miRNA expression levels. These miRNAs could thus be used in clinical practice as diagnostic, prognostic or therapeutic targets for HCC treatment

INFLUENCE OF AGE AND HAND GRIP STRENGTH ON FREESTYLE PERFORMANCES IN MASTER SWIMMERS

The aim of our work was to examine whether age and hand grip strength are correlated with 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m swimming performance times in Master swimmers and how correlation varies considering short, middle or long distances. The main finding of this work was that hand grip strength and age correlated significantly at each distance. Hand grip strength showed a relevant influence on performance time and explained 52% of variance of performance time in 50m race freestyle and only 15% in 800m race. Increasing age was a disadvantageous factor for performance time, and explained 45% of variance of performance time in 800m race freestyle and only 20% in 50 m race

Treatment Of Steroid-Refractory Acute GVHD With Mesenchymal Stem Cells Improves Outcomes In Pediatric Patients; Results Of The Pediatric Subset In A Phase III Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study

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Prevalence of the single-nucleotide polymorphism rs11554137 (IDH1105GGT) in brain tumors of a cohort of Italian patients

IDH mutational status is required for proper diagnosis according to the WHO criteria revised in 2016. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs11554137 (IDH1105GGT) at codon 105 of IDH1 has been reported in patients with several tumor types, including those with glioma. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of IDH1105GGTin a cohort of brain tumors, and its association with clinicopathologic features and IDH1 and IDH2 missense mutations. Exon 4 of IDH1 and IDH2 was analyzed in a series of brain tumors classified according to current WHO criteria. DNA from control individuals was analyzed to infer the prevalence of IDH1105GGTin the reference population. Analysis was performed using next generation sequencing. IDH1105GGTwas three times more frequent in patients with tumors (44/293 cases, 15.0%) vs. population controls (6/109, 5.5%) (p = 0.0102). IDH1105GGTwas more frequent in grade III tumors (26.1%) compared to grade II (10.9%, p = 0.038) and grade IV tumors (13.7%, p = 0.041). IDH1105GGTwas more frequent in grade II and III tumors without an IDH tumor missense mutation (43.8%) than in those with (11.5%, p = 0.005). The IDH1105GGTSNP likely represents an important genetic marker, worthy of additional investigation to better understand the clinical and biological features of IDH-WT infiltrating gliomas

Transcriptional Analysis of Lennert Lymphoma Reveals a Unique Profile and Identifies Novel Therapeutic Targets

Lennert lymphoma (LL) is a lymphoepithelioid morphological variant of peripheral T-cell lymphoma—not otherwise specified (PTCL/NOS), clinically characterized by better prognosis if compared with other PTCL/NOS. Although well characterized as far as morphology and phenotype are concerned, very little is known regarding its molecular features. In this study, we investigated the transcriptional profile of this tumor aiming 1) to identify its cellular counterparts; 2) to better define its relation with other PTCLs—and, therefore, its possible position in lymphoma classification; and 3) to define pathogenetic mechanisms, possibly unveiling novel therapeutic targets. To address these issues, we performed gene and microRNA expression profiling on LL and other PTCL/NOS cases; we identified different genes and microRNAs that discriminated LL from other PTCL/NOS. Particularly, LL revealed a molecular signature significantly enriched in helper function and clearly distinguishable from other PTCL/NOS. Furthermore, PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway emerged as novel potential therapeutic target. In conclusion, based on the already known particular morphological and clinical features, the new molecular findings support the hypothesis that LL might be classified as a separate entity. Preclinical and clinical studies testing the efficacy of PI3K/MTOR inhibitors in this setting are warranted