Birth Weight, Working Memory and Epigenetic Signatures in IGF2 and Related Genes: A MZ Twin Study.

Neurodevelopmental disruptions caused by obstetric complications play a role in the etiology of several phenotypes associated with neuropsychiatric diseases and cognitive dysfunctions. Importantly, it has been noticed that epigenetic processes occurring early in life may mediate these associations. Here, DNA methylation signatures at IGF2 (insulin-like growth factor 2) and IGF2BP1-3 (IGF2-binding proteins 1-3) were examined in a sample consisting of 34 adult monozygotic (MZ) twins informative for obstetric complications and cognitive performance. Multivariate linear regression analysis of twin data was implemented to test for associations between methylation levels and both birth weight (BW) and adult working memory (WM) performance. Familial and unique environmental factors underlying these potential relationships were evaluated. A link was detected between DNA methylation levels of two CpG sites in the IGF2BP1 gene and both BW and adult WM performance. The BW-IGF2BP1 methylation association seemed due to non-shared environmental factors influencing BW, whereas the WM-IGF2BP1 methylation relationship seemed mediated by both genes and environment. Our data is in agreement with previous evidence indicating that DNA methylation status may be related to prenatal stress and later neurocognitive phenotypes. While former reports independently detected associations between DNA methylation and either BW or WM, current results suggest that these relationships are not confounded by each other.

Accessing forgotten memory traces from long-term memory via visual movements

Because memory retrieval often requires overt responses, it is difficult to determine to what extend forgetting occurs as a problem in explicit accessing of long-term memory traces. In this study, we used eye-tracking measures in combination with a behavioural task that favoured high forgetting rates to investigate the existence of memory traces from long-term memory in spite of failure in accessing them consciously. In 2 experiments, participants were encouraged to encode a large set of sound-picture56 location associations. In a later test, sounds were presented and participants were instructed to visually scan, before a verbal memory report, for the correct location of the associated pictures in an empty screen. We found the reactivation of associated memories by sound cues at test biased oculomotor behaviour towards locations congruent with memory representations, even when participants failed to consciously provide a memory report of it. These findings reveal the emergence of a memory-guided behaviour that can be used to map internal representations of forgotten memories from long-term memory.

Fama y verdad en la épica quinientista española. El virgilianismo político y la tradición castellana del siglo xv

Fame and truth in Spanish XVth century epic. !e political vergilianism and the castilian tradition of the XVth century. The starting premise of this essay is that the Spanish Golden Age epic must be read from a historical perspective that takes into account the Hispanic literary tradition ofthe XVth century. In particular, it argues that epic should be approached from a theoretical perspective that explores its relationship with history in order to illuminate the diferences between Italian and Spanish epic theory and practice in the XVth century. The relationship between the discourses of epic and history can be explained through the imitation of the Vergilian model, specifically the Aeneid´s ideological representation of empire. However, it is also necessary to consider theoretical aspects in the light of the diferent uses of classical literature by Italian humanists and Castilian writers of the XV th century. Thus, its primary thesis is that although XVI th century Spanish epic shares the general principles of the Western Epic tradition, it should be approached from a specifically perspective Hispanic, in the light of the «political vergilianism» already enshrined in authors like Enrique de Villena and Juan de Mena, which is essential to appreciate how epic genre serves as memory for the present

Individual Differences in True and False Memory Retrieval Are Related to White Matter Brain Microstructure

We sometimes vividly remember things that did not happen, a phenomenon with general relevance, not only in the courtroom. It is unclear to what extent individual differences in false memories are driven by anatomical differences in memory-relevant brain regions. Here we show in humans that microstructural properties of different white matter tracts as quantified using diffusion tensor imaging are strongly correlated with true and false memory retrieval. To investigate these hypotheses, we tested a large group of participants in a version of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm (recall and recognition) and subsequently obtained diffusion tensor images. A voxel-based whole-brain level linear regression analysis was performedto relatefractional anisotropyto indices oftrue andfalse memory recall and recognition. True memory was correlated to diffusion anisotropy in the inferior longitudinal fascicle, the major connective pathway of the medial temporal lobe, whereas a greater proneness to retrieve false items was related to the superior longitudinal fascicle connecting frontoparietal structures. Our results show that individual differences in white matter microstructure underlie true and false memory performance.

Fair value versus historical cost-based valuation for biological assets: Predictability of financial information

There is an intense debate on the convenience of moving from historical cost (HC) toward the fair value (FV) principle. The debate and academic research is usually concerned with financial instruments, but the IAS 41 requirement of fair valuation for biological assets brings it into the agricultural domain. This paper performs an empirical study with a sample of Spanish farms valuing biological assets at HC and a sample applying FV, finding no significant differences between both valuation methods to assess future cash flows. However, most tests reveal more predictive power of future earnings under fair valuation of biological assets, which is not explained by differences in volatility of earnings and profitability. The study also evidences the existence of flawed HC accounting practices for biological assets in agriculture, which suggests scarce information content of this valuation method in the predominant small business units existing in the agricultural sector in advanced Western countries

El papel de la memoria de trabajo en el cálculo mental un cuarto de siglo después de Hitch = The role of working memory in mental arithmetic a quarter of century after Hitch

Desde que Hitch (1978) publicó el primer estudio sobre el rol de la memoria de trabajo en el cálculo han idoaumentando las investigaciones en este campo. Muchos trabajos han estudiado un único subsistema, pero nuestroobjetivo es identificar qué subsistema de la memoria de trabajo (bucle fonológico, agenda viso-espacial o ejecutivocentral) está más implicado en el cálculo mental. Para ello hemos realizado un estudio correlacional en el quehemos administrado dos pruebas aritméticas y nueve pruebas de la “Bateria de Test de Memòria de Treball” dePickering, Baqués y Gathercole (1999) a una muestra de 94 niños españoles de 7-8 años. Nuestros resultadosindican que el bucle fonológico y sobretodo el ejecutivo central inciden de forma estadísticamente significativa enel rendimiento aritmético

A comparative study of difficulties in accounting preparation and judgement in agriculture using fair value and historical cost accounting for biological assets valuation

This paper presents empirical research comparing the accounting difficulties that arise from the use of two valuation methods for biological assets, fair value (FV) and historical cost (HC) accounting, in the agricultural sector. It also compares how reliable each valuation method is in the decision-making process of agents within the sector. By conducting an experiment with students, farmers, and accountants operating in the agricultural sector, we find that they have more difficulties, make larger miscalculations and make poorer judgements with HC accounting than with FV accounting. In-depth interviews uncover flawed accounting practices in the agricultural sector in Spain in order to meet HC accounting requirements. Given the complexities of cost calculation for biological assets and the predominance of small family business units in advanced Western countries, the study concludes that accounting can be more easily applied in the agricultural sector under FV than HC accounting, and that HC conveys a less accurate grasp of the real situation of a farm.

The Emerging Human Rights Revolution: The Beginning of the Fifth Historical Process in the Consolidation of Human Rights

Emerging human rights are destined to modify, improve and transform a number of already traditional concepts so as to achieve greater guarantees and protection for the rights of individuals and collectivities. One of the big changes that will be brought about by the concept and conception of emerging human rights is that, following on from the processes of positivization, generalization, internationalization and specification, they represent the beginning of the fifth historical process in the consolidation of human rights, namely the process of interaction. A number of breakthroughs have already been achieved, such as the recognition of emerging biocultural rights in the recently adopted Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and shared benefits.

Studying Memory Encoding to Promote Reliable Engagement of the Medial Temporal Lobe at the Single-subject Level

The medial temporal lobe (MTL)-comprising hippocampus and the surrounding neocortical regions-is a targeted brain area sensitive to several neurological diseases. Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has been widely used to assess brain functional abnormalities, detecting MTL activation has been technically challenging. The aim of our study was to provide an fMRI paradigm that reliably activates MTL regions at the individual level, thus providing a useful tool for future research in clinical memory-related studies. Twenty young healthy adults underwent an event-related fMRI study consisting of three encoding conditions: word-pairs, face-name associations and complex visual scenes. A region-of-interest analysis at the individual level comparing novel and repeated stimuli independently for each task was performed. The results of this analysis yielded activations in the hippocampal and parahippocampal regions in most of the participants. Specifically, 95% and 100% of participants showed significant activations in the left hippocampus during the face-name encoding and in the right parahippocampus, respectively, during scene encoding. Additionally, a whole brain analysis, also comparing novel versus repeated stimuli at the group level, showed mainly left frontal activation during the word task. In this group analysis, the face-name association engaged the HP and fusiform gyri bilaterally, along with the left inferior frontal gyrus, and the complex visual scenes activated mainly the parahippocampus and hippocampus bilaterally. In sum, our task design represents a rapid and reliable manner to study and explore MTL activity at the individual level, thus providing a useful tool for future research in clinical memory-related fMRI studies.