Singing Numbers… in Cognitive Space — A Dual‐Task Study of the Link Between Pitch,Space, and Numbers

We assessed the automaticity of spatial‐numerical and spatial‐musical associations by testing their intentionality and load sensitivity in a dual‐task paradigm. In separate sessions, 16 healthy adults performed magnitude and pitch comparisons on sung numbers with variable pitch. Stimuli and response alternatives were identical, but the relevant stimulus attribute (pitch or number) differed between tasks. Concomitant tasks required retention of either color or location information. Results show that spatial associations of both magnitude and pitch are load sensitive and that the spatial association for pitch is more powerful than that for magnitude. These findings argue against the automaticity of spatial mappings in either stimulus dimension.     

Highlights from the IV International Symposium of Thrombosis and Anticoagulation (ISTA), October 20–21, 2011, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

To discuss and share knowledge about advances in the care of patients with thrombotic disorders, the Fourth International Symposium of Thrombosis and Anticoagulation was held in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, from October 20–21, 2011. This scientific program was developed by clinicians for clinicians and was promoted by three major clinical research institutes: the Brazilian Clinical Research Institute, the Duke Clinical Research Institute of the Duke University School of Medicine, and Hospital do Coração Research Institute. Comprising 2 days of academic presentations and open discussion, the symposium had as its primary goal to educate, motivate, and inspire internists, cardiologists, hematologists, and other physicians by convening national and international visionaries, thought-leaders, and dedicated clinician-scientists. This paper summarizes the symposium proceedings.     

Chromosome transplantation as a novel approach for correcting complex genomic disorders

Genomic disorders resulting from large rearrangements of the genome remain an important unsolved issue in gene therapy. Chromosome transplantation, defined as the perfect replacement of an endogenous chromosome with a homologous one, has the potential of curing this kind of disorders. Here we report the first successful case of chromosome transplantation by replacement of an endogenous X chromosome carrying a mutation in the Hprt gene with a normal one in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), correcting the genetic defect. The defect was also corrected by replacing the Y chromosome with an X chromosome. Chromosome transplanted clones maintained in vitro and in vivo features of stemness and contributed to chimera formation. Genome integrity was confirmed by cytogenetic and molecular genome analysis. The approach here proposed, with some modifications, might be used to cure various disorders due to other X chromosome aberrations in induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells derived from affected patients.     

Neurofunctional maps of the ‘maternal brain’ and the effects of oxytocin: A multimodal voxel‐based meta‐analysis

Several studies have tried to understand the possible neurobiological basis of mothering. The putative involvement of oxytocin, in this regard, has been deeply investigated. Performing a voxel‐based meta‐analysis, we aimed at testing the hypothesis of overlapping brain activation in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies investigating the mother–infant interaction and the oxytocin modulation of emotional stimuli in humans. We performed two systematic literature searches: fMRI studies investigating the neurofunctional correlates of the ‘maternal brain’ by employing mother–infant paradigms; and fMRI studies employing oxytocin during emotional tasks. A unimodal voxel‐based meta‐analysis was performed on each database, whereas a multimodal voxel‐based meta‐analytical tool was adopted to assess the hypothesis that the neurofunctional effects of oxytocin are detected in brain areas implicated in the ‘maternal brain.’ We found greater activation in the bilateral insula extending to the inferior frontal gyrus, basal ganglia and thalamus during mother–infant interaction and greater left insular activation associated with oxytocin administration versus placebo. Left insula extending to basal ganglia and frontotemporal gyri as well as bilateral thalamus and amygdala showed consistent activation across the two paradigms. Right insula also showed activation across the two paradigms, and dorsomedial frontal cortex activation in mothers but deactivation with oxytocin. Significant activation in areas involved in empathy, emotion regulation, motivation, social cognition and theory of mind emerged from our multimodal meta‐analysis, supporting the need for further studies directly investigating the neurobiology of oxytocin in the mother–infant relationship.     

A New Approach toward Investigation of Structure of Terminal Units of Poly(1,3‐Pentadiene) using T2‐Filtered NMR Spectroscopy

A new method for the identification of the structure of terminal units in poly(1,3‐pentadiene) synthesized by cationic mechanism is developed. The conducting of NMR experiments with a T₂ filter allows the intensities of the spectral signals of carbon and hydrogen atoms of main chain groups of poly(1,3‐pentadiene) with a short relaxation time to be decreased and significantly increases the intensities of signals of carbon and hydrogen atoms of head and end groups, which are characterized by higher mobility. Using 1D NMR spectroscopy with a T₂ filter as well as 2D heteronuclear single‐quantum correlation and heteronuclear multiple‐bond correlation NMR spectroscopy, it is found that the position of four out of five carbon atoms of the head group fully coincides with the position of spectral signals of carbon atoms of trans‐1,2‐ and trans‐1,4‐ units of a main polymer chain. This new method allows the identification of the signals of all carbon atoms in head trans‐1,4‐ group of poly(1,3‐pentadiene).