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Long noncoding (lnc)RNAs are reported to be key regulators of tumor progression, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The lncRNA

This study provides the results from the implementation of a highly structured therapist-guided iCBT program for people with work-related anxiety and depression, in terms of program efficacy, participants’ adherence and satisfaction. Seventy-seven national police-workers were randomly allocated to one of two groups: without additional videoconference sessions (web platform with guidance of therapist), and with additional videoconference sessions (same intervention as the previous group, plus two videoconference guidance sessions with a psychologist). The intervention was comprised of 12 sessions and took place for 17-20 weeks. We found an adherence rate of 36.4%, with no differences between groups. All participants endorsed lower depression [BDI-II F(1) = 36.98, ρ < .001; ATQ F(1) = 24.22, ρ < .001], and anxiety [STAI-State F(1) = 76.62, ρ < .001] after the program. As a variable related to anxiety and depression in workplace, participants also showed higher assertiveness levels [RAS F(1) = 8.96, ρ < .001]. A significant reduction of the mean level of anxiety perceived by participants as the intervention program progressed was observed in both groups (F(2)=7.44; p=.003). Participants were satisfied with the therapists’ intervention and with the program. No significant group effects were found for any of the measures. Reduction in depression levels was maintained in the 12 months follow-up, but levels of anxiety increased. This study is innovative, as it is the first controlled trial to analyze the effect of two added videoconference sessions, and it includes short and long term measures, which is not usual. The results are discussed to clarify the role of the contact with the therapist to improve treatment adherence. post-print 309 KB

GO-Y078, a new synthetic analogue of curcumin (CUR), has higher oral bioavailability and anticancer activity than CUR, but the oncostatic effect of GO-Y078 on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is largely unknown. In the present study, we examined the oncostatic properties and possible mechanisms of GO-Y078 on human SCC-9 and HSC-3 OSCC cells. Our results indicated that GO-Y078 showed a cytostatic effect against OSCC cells, and this antiproliferative phenomenon stemmed from a mechanism involving multiple levels of cooperation, including cell-cycle G2/M arrest and apoptosis induction. Mechanistically, GO-Y078 treatment induced caspase-mediated apoptosis via upregulating two apoptosis-modulating proteins, SMAC/DIABLO and heme oxygenase (HO)-1. GO-Y078 transcriptionally induced upregulation of the HO-1 gene by increasing the AP-1 DNA-binding activity, which was initiated by activation of the p38 /JNK1/2 pathways. In the clinic, patients with head and neck cancers expressed lower HO-1 and SMAC/DIABLO levels in primary cancer tissues compared to normal tissues. Clinical datasets also revealed that patients with head and neck cancers expressing high HO-1 had afavorable prognosis. Our results provide new insights into the role of GO-Y078-induced molecular regulation in suppressing OSCC growth and suggest that GO-Y078 has potential therapeutic applications for OSCC.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a typical inflammation-associated cancer, and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histopathological subtype. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are the most common driver mutations of LUAD, and they have been identified as important therapeutic targets by EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Interleukin (IL)-17A secreted by T-helper 17 lymphocytes is a proinflammatory cytokine that plays an important role in cancer pathogenesis. The present study was designed to investigate the possible associations among IL-17A genetic polymorphisms, EGFR mutation status, and the clinicopathologic development of LUAD in a Taiwanese population. Our study population consisted of 277 LUAD patients harboring the wild-type (WT) EGFR or a mutant (MT) EGFR. Four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of IL-17A in the peripheral blood, including rs8193036(C > T), rs8193037(G > A), rs2275913(G > A), and rs3748067(C > T) loci, were genotyped using a TaqMan allelic discrimination assay. Our results showed that none of these IL-17A SNPs were correlated with the risk of developing mutant EGFR. However, patients with a smoking habit who carried the GA genotype of IL-17A rs8193037 had a significantly lower susceptibility to EGFR mutations (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 0.225; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.056~0.900, p = 0.035). Moreover, compared to individuals carrying the CC genotype of rs8193036 at IL-17A, T-allele carriers (CT + TT) were at higher risk of developing more-advanced stages (stage III or IV; p = 0.020). In the WT EGFR subgroup analysis, IL-17A rs8193036 T-allele carriers had higher risks of developing an advanced tumor stage (p = 0.016) and lymphatic invasion (p = 0.049). Further analyses of clinical datasets revealed correlations of IL-17 receptor A (IL-17RA) and IL-17RC expressions with a poor prognosis of LUAD patients with a smoking history or with higher levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. In conclusion, our results suggested that two functional promoter polymorphisms of IL-17A, i.e., rs8193036 and rs8193037, were associated with the EGFR mutation status and progression in LUAD patients, indicating that these two genetic variants might act as possible markers for predicting patients’ clinical prognoses.

Multistage adaptive testing has recently emerged as an alternative to the computerized adaptive test. The current study details a new multistage test to assess fluid intelligence.An item pool of progressive matrices with constructed response format was developed, and divided into six subtests. The subtests were applied to a sample of 724 college students and their psychometric properties were studied (i.e., reliability, dimensionality and validity evidence). The item pool was calibrated under the graded response model, and two multistage structures were developed, based on the automatic test assembly principles. Finally, the test information provided by each structure was compared in order to select the most appropriate one.The item pool showed adequate psychometric properties. From the two compared multistage structures, the simplest structure (i.e., routing test and two modules in the next stages) were more informative across the latent trait continuum and were therefore kept.Taken together, the results of the two studies support the application of the FIMT (Fluid Intelligence Multistage Test), a multistage test to assess fluid intelligence accurately and innovatively.

There is great interest in the relationships between memory span tasks and cognitive abilities. However, the causes underlying their correlation remain unknown. In the present article, five key data sets were reanalyzed according to two criteria: They must consider complex span tasks (so-called working memory [WM] tasks) and simple span tasks (so-called short-term memory [STM] tasks), and they must comprise cognitive ability measures. The obtained results offer several points of interest. First, memory span tasks should be conceived from a hierarchical perspective: They comprise both general and specific components. Second, the general component explains about four times the variance explained by the specific components. Third, STM and WM measures are closely related. Fourth, STM and WM measures share the same common variance with cognitive abilities. Finally, the strong relationship usually found between memory span tasks and cognitive abilities could be tentatively interpreted by the component shared by STM and WM--namely, the capacity for temporarily preserving a reliable memory representation of any given information.

Convergent validity of two tests of conscientiousness. The absence of correspondence between objective measurement of behavior and measurement based on self-report along with generalized use of questionnaires as personality assessment instruments raises a problem with regard to the validity of assessment instruments in this area of study. The goal of this work is to obtain a convergent validity measure for an objective assessment computerized task of conscientiousness based on the development of a functional equally but morphologically different task. The features of the designed assessment task are commented upon. The sample was made up of 267 university graduates (194 males and 73 females). The high convergent validity value obtained (r= .638, p.001) is a first step in the validation process of both tasks.

This work analyzes the possibility that the differences in the performance of men and women in dynamic spatial tasks such as the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (SODT-R; Santacreu & Rubio, 1998), obtained in previous works, are due to cognitive style (Reflexivity-Impulsivity) or to the speed-accuracy tradeoff (SATO) that the participants implement. If these differences are due to cognitive style, they would be independent of intelligence, whereas if they are due to SATO, they may be associated with intelligence. In this work, 1652 participants, 984 men and 668 women, ages between 18 and 55 years, were assessed. In addition to the SODT-R, the “Test de Razonamiento Analítico, Secuencial e Inductivo” (TRASI [Analytical, Sequential, and Inductive Reasoning Test]; Rubio & Santacreu, 2003) was administered as a measure of general intelligence. Impulsivity scores (Zi) of Salkind and Wright (1977) were used to analyze reflexivity-impulsivity and SATO. The results obtained indicate that (a) four performance groups can be identified: Fast-accurate, Slow-inaccurate, Impulsive, and Reflexive. The first two groups solve the task as a function of a competence variable and the last two as a function of a personality variable; (b) performance differences should be attributed to SATO; (c) SATO differs depending on sex and intelligence level.

The causes underlying the correlation between working memory and fluid intelligence remain unknown. There are some researchers who argue that the answer can be found on the presumed executive component of working memory. However, the available empirical evidence is far from conclusive. The present study tested a sample of 229 participants. Intelligence, working memory, and executive functioning were measured by one analytic reasoning test (TRASI), a dual task combining a primary task of deductive reasoning with a secondary task of counting, and the Tower of Hanoi task, respectively. All the 3 measures were computer administered. The results indicate that the shared variance between executive functioning and working memory do not account for the relationship between intelligence and working memory. Some theoretical implications are discussed.

When individuals perform spatial tasks, individual differences emerge in accuracy and speed as well as in the response patterns used to cope with the task. The purpose of this study is to identify, through empirical criteria, the different response patterns or strategies used by individuals when performing the dynamic spatial task presented in the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (SODT-R). Results show that participants can be classified according to their response patterns. Three different ways of solving a task are described, and their relation to (a) performance factors (response latency, response frequency, and invested time) and (b) ability tests (analytical reasoning, verbal reasoning, and spatial estimation) are investigated. Sex differences in response patterns and performance are also analyzed. It is found that the frequency with which men and women employ each one of the strategies described here, is different and statistically significant. Thus, employed strategy plays an important role when interpreting sex differences on dynamic spatial tasks.

Storage-oriented memory span tasks with no explicit concurrent processing are usually referred as short-term memory (STM) tasks, whereas tasks involving storage plus concurrent processing requirements are designated as working memory (WM) tasks. The present study explores a question that remains unsolved: Do STM and WM tasks clearly tap distinguishable theoretical constructs? For that purpose, a large sample of 403 participants was tested through 12 diverse memory span tasks. Half of those tasks are widely accepted as measures of STM, whereas the other half measure WM. The results show that STM and WM share largely overlapping underlying capacity limitations, suggesting that all memory span tasks tap essentially the same construct. Some implications are discussed.

Background: We have observed discrepancies between C-reactive protein (CRP) measured in serum prepared from a serum separator tube (SST) and that obtained from a plain tube, when using the Vitros CRP assay. Our study aimed at elucidating the cause of these discrepancies. Methods: Eighty-seven specimens from hospitalized patients with various types of inflammatory disease were analysed using a fixed-point immuno-rate method on a Vitros CRP slide. The serum was prepared simultaneously in both vacuum and SSTs. We also performed mixing tests by adding 47 samples of serum prepared from plain tubes to SSTs and incubating for 15 min before CRP analysis. Results: Lower values of CRP were found in serum prepared from plain tubes than in serum from SSTs. Addition of serum prepared from plain tubes to SSTs and incubating for 15 min increased the CRP values significantly. The ratio of CRP measured in serum prepared from plain tubes and from SSTs did not differ significantly from the ratio obtained when serum was prepared in a plain tube then added to an SST. Discussion: We propose that SSTs can adsorb some macromolocules that form complexes with CRP. The addition of SST gel to serum results in the release of CRP molecules from these complexes, which enhances the antigen-antibody reaction on the Vitros CRP slide and increases the measured CRP concentrations.