Integration of Morphological Data into Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis: Toward the Identikit of the Stylasterid Ancestor

Stylasteridae is a hydroid family including 29 worldwide-distributed genera, all provided with a calcareous skeleton. They are abundant in shallow and deep waters and represent an important component of marine communities. In the present paper, we studied the evolution of ten morphological characters, currently used in stylasterid taxonomy, using a phylogenetic approach. Our results indicate that stylasterid morphology is highly plastic and that many events of independent evolution and reversion have occurred. Our analysis also allows sketching a possible identikit of the stylasterid ancestor. It had calcareous skeleton, reticulate-granular coenosteal texture, polyps randomly arranged, gastrostyle, and dactylopore spines, while lacking a gastropore lip and dactylostyles. If the ancestor had single or double/multiple chambered gastropore tube is uncertain. These data suggest that the ancestor was similar to the extant genera Cyclohelia and Stellapora. Our investigation is the first attempt to integrate molecular and morphological information to clarify the stylasterid evolutionary scenario and represents the first step to infer the stylasterid ancestor morphology. \ua9 2016 Puce et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Neural correlates of facial motion perception

Several neuroimaging studies have revealed that the superior temporal sulcus (STS) is highly implicated in the processing of facial motion. A limitation of these investigations, however, is that many of them utilize unnatural stimuli (e.g., morphed videos) or those which contain many confounding spatial cues. As a result, the underlying mechanisms may not be fully engaged during such perception. The aim of the current study was to build upon the existing literature by implementing highly detailed and accurate models of facial movement. Accordingly, neurologically healthy participants viewed simultaneous sequences of rigid and nonrigid motion that was retargeted onto a standard computer generated imagery face model. Their task was to discriminate between different facial motion videos in a two-alternative forced choice paradigm. Presentations varied between upright and inverted orientations. In corroboration with previous data, the perception of natural facial motion strongly activated a portion of the posterior STS. The analysis also revealed engagement of the lingual gyrus, fusiform gyrus, precentral gyrus, and cerebellum. These findings therefore suggest that the processing of dynamic facial information is supported by a network of visuomotor substrates

The development and neural basis of referential gaze perception

Infants are sensitive to the referential information conveyed by others’ eye gaze, which could be one of the developmental foundations of theory of mind. To investigate the neural correlates of gaze–object relations, we recorded ERPs from adults and 9-month-old infants while they watched scenes containing gaze shifts either towards or away from the location of a preceding object. In adults, object-incongruent gaze shifts elicited enhanced ERP amplitudes over the occipito-temporal area (N330). In infants, a similar posterior ERP component (N290) was greater for object-incongruent gaze shifts, which suggests that by the age of 9 months infants encode referential information of gaze in a similar way to adults. In addition, in infants we observed an early frontal ERP component (anterior N200), which showed higher amplitude in response to the perception of object-congruent gaze shifts. This component may reflect fast-track processing of socially relevant information, such as the detection of communicative or informative situations, and could form a developmental foundation for attention sharing, social learning and theory of mind

A educação dramática na formação inicial de professores e educadores

As atividades de Educação Dramática convocam uma diversidade de possibilidades expressivas. Integradas no currículo de formação inicial de professores e educadores, os projetos de criação dramática, orientados para a performance, implicam, no seu processo criativo, um envolvimento grupal que deverá constituir matéria suficiente de análise e de avaliação por parte dos seus intervenientes em relação à sua própria participação e às relações interpares. O paradigma metodológico orientador do processo dramático-teatral a que nos remetemos assenta num modelo construtivista do processo educacional. Pelo seu caráter explorativo e experimental, a aprendizagem dramático-teatral deverá ser sustentada em estratégias colaborativas entre professor e aluno, implicando, para tal, a possibilidade de tomada de decisões partilhadas, num ambiente de respeito e igualdade.The activities of Drama Education are open to a diversity of expressive possibilities. Integrated in the pre-service training curriculum for teachers and educators, the dramatic creation projects, oriented to performance, imply, in its creative process, a group involvement that should be sufficient matter of analysis and evaluation by those involved in relation to its own participation and relations between peers. The methodological guidance paradigm of the dramatic and theatrical process that guide us is based on a constructivist model of the educational process. Due its exploratory and experimental character, dramatic and theatrical learning should be based on collaborative strategies between teacher and student, implying, to this end, that decision-making possibilities could be shared in an environment of respect and equality.CIEC - Centro de Investigação em Estudos da Criança, IE, UMinho (UI 317 da FCT), Portugal. Fundos Nacionais através da FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia) e cofinanciado pelo Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) através do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) com a referência POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007562info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Neural correlates of mentalizing-related computations during strategic interactions in humans

Competing successfully against an intelligent adversary requires the ability to mentalize an opponent's state of mind to anticipate his/her future behavior. Although much is known about what brain regions are activated during mentalizing, the question of how this function is implemented has received little attention to date. Here we formulated a computational model describing the capacity to mentalize in games. We scanned human subjects with functional MRI while they participated in a simple two-player strategy game and correlated our model against the functional MRI data. Different model components captured activity in distinct parts of the mentalizing network. While medial prefrontal cortex tracked an individual's expectations given the degree of model-predicted influence, posterior superior temporal sulcus was found to correspond to an influence update signal, capturing the difference between expected and actual influence exerted. These results suggest dissociable contributions of different parts of the mentalizing network to the computations underlying higher-order strategizing in humans

Modeling thrombosis in a microfluidic system: the effect of shear stress, microparticles and protein surfaces

LAUREA MAGISTRALELe piastrine svolgono un ruolo centrale nel processo emostatico, ma disfunzioni piastriniche possono causare sanguinamento, trombosi, infarto, ictus ischemico. È importante quindi monitorare opportunamente l’attività piastrinica; al giorno d’oggi sono disponibili numerosi test di funzionalità piastrinica, tuttavia, solo pochi dei metodi clinicamente accettati operano in condizioni di flusso simil-fisiologiche. A tal proposito, il presente lavoro prevede la caratterizzazione di una piattaforma microfluidica per raggiungere due obiettivi principali: valutare la formazione di trombi in condizioni di flusso simili a quelle in vivo, rivestendo i canali di un chip microfluidico con proteine della matrice extracellulare (ECM) per simulare un danno ai vasi sanguigni e promuovere l’attività piastrinica; sviluppare un dispositivo label-free e di semplice utilizzo, che utilizzi un sensore di pressione per valutare l’attività piastrinica. È stata valutata l’influenza che lo shear stress e le differenti proteine testate hanno su adesione ed aggregazione piastrinica. I risultati mostrano come, ad eccezione del collagene, tutti gli altri substrati, da soli, non siano in grado di promuovere l’aggregazione piastrinica; inoltre, alti shear stress premettono una buona adesione solo su collagene e fibrinogeno. Con la stessa piattaforma è stata valutata l’alterazione dell’attività piastrinica causata da alti livelli nel sangue di microparticelle piastriniche (PDMPs). I risultati evidenziano una ridotta aggregazione in presenza di PDMPs, soprattutto ad alti shear stress. Tale alterazione potrebbe comportare la formazione di numerosi microaggregati particolarmente reattivi in circolo, oltre che causare un ulteriore aumento dei livelli di PDMPs, con il rischio di complicazioni in vivo come microtrombosi o collasso di organi. Si è anche analizzato l’effetto del Covid-19. Le analisi effettuate non evidenziano particolari alterazioni dell’attività piastrinica, ma, per risultati più accurati, è necessario realizzare un maggior numero di esperimenti. L’inserimento del sensore di pressione nella piattaforma ha permesso di realizzare dei test preliminari per la progettazione di un dispositivo bedside; valutazioni più accurate sono però necessari per procedere con lo sviluppo del dispositivo.Platelets play a central role in hemostasis, but in case of platelet dysfunction, they can lead to excessive bleeding, thrombosis, myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke. It is important to properly monitor platelet activity and, in this regard, many platelet function testing devices are commercially available. However, only few accepted clinical methods evaluate platelet activity under physiological flow conditions. The present work focuses on the characterization of a microfluidic platform to reach two main purposes: assess thrombus formation under in vivo-like flow conditions, simulating the presence of a vessel injury by coating the channels of a microfluidic device with extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins to promote platelet activity; develop an easy-to-use, label-free system, using a pressure sensor to assess platelet activity. The effect of shear stress and different ECM immobilized proteins on platelet adhesion and aggregation has been investigated. Results show how, except for collagen, all the other protein substrates are not able to promote significant platelet aggregation; moreover, high shear stresses allow good platelet adhesion only on collagen and fibrinogen. Platelet activity alteration caused by high levels in blood of platelet-derived microparticles (PDMPs) was evaluated via the same platform. Results show reduced platelet aggregation when PDMPs are present, especially at high shear stress. This altered platelet activity may lead to a high number of circulating activated microaggregates and to further increased levels of PDMPs, that can cause severe complications in vivo, such as microthrombosis or organ failure. The effect of Covid-19 on platelet activity was also investigated. Analysis between the two donor groups (healthy subjects and covid patients) does not highlight relevant differences; however, more experiments should be performed to confirm the absence or presence of any statistically significant difference. The addition of the pressure sensor to the platform allowed to perform the preliminary tests for the design of a bedside point-of-care device, however more precise results are needed to proceed with the device development

Modulation of emotional appraisal by false physiological feedback during fMRI

BACKGROUND James and Lange proposed that emotions are the perception of physiological reactions. Two-level theories of emotion extend this model to suggest that cognitive interpretations of physiological changes shape self-reported emotions. Correspondingly false physiological feedback of evoked or tonic bodily responses can alter emotional attributions. Moreover, anxiety states are proposed to arise from detection of mismatch between actual and anticipated states of physiological arousal. However, the neural underpinnings of these phenomena previously have not been examined. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We undertook a functional brain imaging (fMRI) experiment to investigate how both primary and second-order levels of physiological (viscerosensory) representation impact on the processing of external emotional cues. 12 participants were scanned while judging face stimuli during both exercise and non-exercise conditions in the context of true and false auditory feedback of tonic heart rate. We observed that the perceived emotional intensity/salience of neutral faces was enhanced by false feedback of increased heart rate. Regional changes in neural activity corresponding to this behavioural interaction were observed within included right anterior insula, bilateral mid insula, and amygdala. In addition, right anterior insula activity was enhanced during by asynchronous relative to synchronous cardiac feedback even with no change in perceived or actual heart rate suggesting this region serves as a comparator to detect physiological mismatches. Finally, BOLD activity within right anterior insula and amygdala predicted the corresponding changes in perceived intensity ratings at both a group and an individual level. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our findings identify the neural substrates supporting behavioural effects of false physiological feedback, and highlight mechanisms that underlie subjective anxiety states, including the importance of the right anterior insula in guiding second-order "cognitive" representations of bodily arousal state

Modulation of emotional appraisal by false physiological feedback during fMRI

BACKGROUND James and Lange proposed that emotions are the perception of physiological reactions. Two-level theories of emotion extend this model to suggest that cognitive interpretations of physiological changes shape self-reported emotions. Correspondingly false physiological feedback of evoked or tonic bodily responses can alter emotional attributions. Moreover, anxiety states are proposed to arise from detection of mismatch between actual and anticipated states of physiological arousal. However, the neural underpinnings of these phenomena previously have not been examined. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We undertook a functional brain imaging (fMRI) experiment to investigate how both primary and second-order levels of physiological (viscerosensory) representation impact on the processing of external emotional cues. 12 participants were scanned while judging face stimuli during both exercise and non-exercise conditions in the context of true and false auditory feedback of tonic heart rate. We observed that the perceived emotional intensity/salience of neutral faces was enhanced by false feedback of increased heart rate. Regional changes in neural activity corresponding to this behavioural interaction were observed within included right anterior insula, bilateral mid insula, and amygdala. In addition, right anterior insula activity was enhanced during by asynchronous relative to synchronous cardiac feedback even with no change in perceived or actual heart rate suggesting this region serves as a comparator to detect physiological mismatches. Finally, BOLD activity within right anterior insula and amygdala predicted the corresponding changes in perceived intensity ratings at both a group and an individual level. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Our findings identify the neural substrates supporting behavioural effects of false physiological feedback, and highlight mechanisms that underlie subjective anxiety states, including the importance of the right anterior insula in guiding second-order "cognitive" representations of bodily arousal state

Fluent Speech Via Visual Choral Speech

A novel phenomenon of fluency enhancement via visual gestures of speech in the absence of traditional auditory feedback is reported herein. The effect on visual choral speech on stuttering frequency was investigated. Ten participants who stuttered recited memorized text aloud under two conditions. In a Visual Choral Speech (VCS) condition participants were instructed to focus their gaze on the face, lips and jaw of a research assistant who "silently mouthed" the text in unison. In a control condition, participants recited memorized text to the research assistant who sat motionless. A statistically significant (p= .0025) reduction of approximately 80% in stuttering frequency was observed in the VCS condition. As visual linguistic cues are sufficient to activate the auditory cortex, one may speculate that VCS induces fluency in a similar yet undetermined manner as altered auditory feedback does