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In this paper, we introduce a novel methodology for the analysis of task-related fMRI data. In particular, we propose an alternative way for constructing the design matrix, based on the newly suggested Information-Assisted Dictionary Learning (IADL) method. This technique offers an enhanced potential, within the conventional GLM framework, (a) to efficiently cope with uncertainties in the modeling of the hemodynamic response function, (b) to accommodate unmodeled brain-induced sources, beyond the task-related ones, as well as potential interfering scanner-induced artifacts, uncorrected head-motion residuals and other unmodeled physiological signals, and (c) to integrate external knowledge regarding the natural sparsity of the brain activity that is associated with both the experimental design and brain atlases. The capabilities of the proposed methodology are evaluated via a realistic synthetic fMRI-like dataset, and demonstrated using a test case of a challenging fMRI study, which verifies that the proposed approach produces substantially more consistent results compared to the standard design matrix method. A toolbox extension for SPM is also provided, to facilitate the use and reproducibility of the proposed methodology. © 2021

Advances in computer and communications technology have deeply affected the way we communicate. Social media have emerged as a major means of human communication. However, a major limitation in such media is the lack of non-verbal stimuli, which sometimes hinders the understanding of the message, and in particular the associated emotional content. In an effort to compensate for this, people started to use emoticons, which are combinations of keyboard characters that resemble facial expressions, and more recently their evolution: emojis, namely, small colorful images that resemble faces, actions and daily life objects. This paper presents evidence of the effect of emojis on memory retrieval through a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) study. A total number of fifteen healthy volunteers were recruited for the experiment, during which successive stimuli were presented, containing words with intense emotional content combined with emojis, either with congruent or incongruent emotional content. Volunteers were asked to recall a memory related to the stimulus. The study of the reaction times showed that emotional incongruity among word+emoji combinations led to longer reaction times in memory retrieval compared to congruent combinations. General Linear Model (GLM) and Blind Source Separation (BSS) methods have been tested in assessing the influence of the emojis on the process of memory retrieval. The analysis of the fMRI data showed that emotional incongruity among word +emoji combinations activated the Broca’s area (BA44 and BA45) in both hemispheres, the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA) and the inferior prefrontal cortex (BA47), compared to congruent combinations. Furthermore, compared to pseudowords, word+emoji combinations activated the left Broca’s area (BA44 and BA45), the amygdala, the right temporal pole (BA48) and several frontal regions including the SMA and the inferior prefrontal cortex. © 2020 Chatzichristos 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.

Flower production is an important economic activity in the Cochabamba Valley, Bolivia. Species and varieties of Roses (Rosa sp-), Chrysanthemums (Chrysantemum sp.), Carnations (Dianthus carophyllus), Gladiolus (Gladiolus communis), Saticias (Limonium sp.), Liliums (Liliums sp.,) etc. are grown. Rusts affect a variety of crops, including flowers. The aim of this study, was identify the rust diseases that is affecting to three important flower species. Stems and leaves of samples with characteristic rust symptoms of smallholder farmer parcels were collected between 2016 and 2018 of the Chrysantemum grandiflorum, G. communis and Limonium sp. Based on morphometric studies the causal agent of rust diseases was identify as the first record to Puccinia horiana on chrysanthemum, Uromyces transversalis on Gladiolus and Uromyces limonii on Limonio in the Cochabamba Valley, Bolivia.

Background: The growing interest in neuroimaging technologies generates a massive amount of biomedical data of high dimensionality. Tensor-based analysis of brain imaging data has been recognized as an effective analysis that exploits its inherent multi-way nature. In particular, the advantages of tensorial over matrix-based methods have previously been demonstrated in the context of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) source localization. However, such methods can also become ineffective in realistic challenging scenarios, involving, e.g., strong noise and/or significant overlap among the activated regions. Moreover, they commonly rely on the assumption of an underlying multilinear model generating the data. New method: This paper aims at investigating the possible gains from exploiting the 4-dimensional nature of the brain images, through a higher-order tensorization of the fMRI signal, and the use of less restrictive generative models. In this context, the higher-order block term decomposition (BTD) and the PARAFAC2 tensor models are considered for the first time in fMRI blind source separation. A novel PARAFAC2-like extension of BTD (BTD2) is also proposed, aiming at combining the effectiveness of BTD in handling strong instances of noise and the potential of PARAFAC2 to cope with datasets that do not follow the strict multilinear assumption. Comparison with existing methods: The methods were tested using both synthetic and real data and compared with state of the art methods. Conclusions: The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of BTD and BTD2 for challenging scenarios (presence of noise, spatial overlap among activation regions and inter-subject variability in the haemodynamic response function (HRF)). © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

In this paper, we propose a novel unsupervised pre-training method to learn the brain dynamics using a deep learning architecture named residual D-net. As it is often the case in medical research, in contrast to typical deep learning tasks, the size of the resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Image (rs-fMRI) datasets for training is limited. Thus, the available data should be very efficiently used to learn the complex patterns underneath the brain connectivity dynamics. To address this issue, we use residual connections to alleviate the training complexity through recurrent multi-scale representation and pre-training the architecture unsupervised way. We conduct two classification tasks to differentiate early and late stage Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) from Normal healthy Control (NC) subjects. The experiments verify that our proposed residual D-net indeed learns the brain connectivity dynamics, leading to significantly higher classification accuracy compared to previously published techniques. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019.

Sugarcane is an important crop in the eastern region of Bolivia. Rusts are one of the main diseases that affect this crop. At Latin American level reports are known about the emergence of the new rust known as orange rust. In July 2017, samplings of leaves with apparent symptoms of orange rust were carried out in production fields in the Saavedra and Mineros municipalities of the Santa Cruz department. After analysing in the laboratory, it was recorded that uredinias, urediospores, telias and teliospores correspond to Puccinia kuehnii E. J. Butler causal agent of sugarcane orange rust. This is the first record of the orange rust in Bolivia.

Polylepis spp. are native forest plants of the Andean region of Bolivia. In 2015, Peronospora sp. was reported on some Polylepis plants in the Pajchanti locality. Earlier, in 2009, Polylepis racemosa plants growing in the Palca locality were reported affected by a leaf spot disease. The leaves were chlorotic and their undersides whitish-grey in color. Observation under the microscope revealed conidiophores and conidia matching the descriptions of both the P. sparsa and the P. oblatispora group.

In Bolivia, potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) leaf spot diseases have traditionally been regarded as of little importance especially in the Andean highlands. In recent years, however, new types of leaf spot disease have appeared, their distribution widened, and their incidence and severity increased. The present work identifies the main types of leaf spot present in the traditional highland growing regions of the Departments of La Paz (around 4350 m) and Cochabamba (2900-4100 m), and in the north of the Department of Santa Cruz, the new lowland area of potato production (around 235 m). Five causal agents were identified in the highland region: Alternaria solani, Septoria lycopersici, Cercospora solanicola, Passalora concors and Botrytis cinerea. These affected several types of native potato. In the lowland region, A. solani and Stagonospora spp. were found to cause leaf spot disease on cv. Desiree. In both agroecosystems, the diseases sometimes appeared alongside late blight (caused by Phytophthora infestans). The leaf spot disease caused by A. solani, was very destructive, while that caused by S. lycopersici was only destructive in the highlands.

El artículo analiza la percepción que los responsables de formación de las spin-off de la USC tienen de las posibilidades de las TIC en la formación continua, y el uso que hacen de ellas. El total de spin-off en la USC desde 1999 hasta 2014 es de 25 empresas, estando formada nuestra muestra finalmente por 20. Es un estudio descriptivo, en el que empleamos el método de encuesta aplicando un cuestionario online de elaboración propia a las spin-off. Estas empresas muestran una visión positiva de las TIC en la formación, aunque en la realidad su uso todavía es escaso. The paper analysed the perception that responsible for trainer of spin-off from USC about the possibilities of ICT in continuous trained, and the use made of them. In USC, since 1999 to 2004, 25 spin-off companies were created, finally our example being formed by 20. This a descriptive study, which use the survey method and we applied on line questionnaire own elaboration to spin-off. These companies show a positive view of ICT in education, although the reality, its use still is scared.

In this communication, we present a new contribution to radar-target identification via the extinction-pulse (E-pulse) method. New E-pulses are built using exponential β-splines, which include in their construction free parameters that are adjusted to obtain more robust identification systems. The adjusting process is done by searching for the free parameters that maximize the discrimination capability of the system in the absence of noise. Simulation results justify the approach and show that the E-pulses obtained by maximization of the discrimination capability improve the results obtained with the classical scheme. © 1963-2012 IEEE.

El objetivo del presente trabajo radica en identificar las necesidades formativas para el trabajo en red de los alumnos de secundaria de Galicia. Se presenta un análisis exploratorio de sus niveles de competencia en esta materia valorados autopercibidos por los propios alumnos y percibidos por sus profesores. Los resultados muestran niveles de preparación superiores en competencias instrumentales, e insuficientes en otras mas directamente relacionadas con el aprendizaje autónomo y orientado a la creación de conocimiento, sugiriendo la necesidad de propuestas de formación que mejoren la explotación y el uso de las TIC para la optimización de los procesos de aprendizaje. The aim of the present study is to identify the training needs for educational network of secondary education students in Galicia. An exploratory analysis of the competence levels in educational network assessed by the own students and by their teachers. The results show higher levels in instrumental competences, and insufficient in those competences related to autonomous learning and knowledge development. Therefore, these data suggest the need of curricular and systematic training to improve the exploitation and management of the ICT in order to optimize the learning process.

From 2001 to 2003, field collections of wild potatoes (Solanum Section Petota Solanaceae) were made in the north of the Department of La Paz, Bolivia, with the aim of determining their current distribution in this region. The collection embraced sectors of five provinces: Omasuyos, Larecaja, Camacho, Muñecas and Bautista Saavedra. Five previously described wild species were collected: Solanum acaule Bitter, S. achacachense Cárdenas, S. brevicaule (Bitter) Juz and Buk, S. candolleanum Berthault and S. circaeifolium Bitter, as well as four unidentified species. Some wild potato species in Bolivia, such as S. achacachense, are rare and in danger of extinction because of the destruction of their habitat. In contrast, S. brevicaule, S. candolleanum and S. circaeifolium were recorded in new areas. Some species were affected by pests (Premnotrypes sp.) or the fungus Phytophthora infestans. This is the first time that "Lelekoyas" potatoes (S. tuberosum subsp. andigena) have been detected in the area of influence of Lake Titicaca. In summary, this work reports degrees of genetic erosion for some species, the finding of taxa in new geographical areas, some probable new species, and the presence of P. infestans in some of the species detected., Entre los años 2001 y 2003 se realizaron recolecciones de las principales especies silvestres de papa (Solanum Section Petota Solanaceae) en el norte del Departamento de La Paz, Bolivia, con el objetivo de conocer de su distribución en esta región. La recolección abarcó sectores de cinco provincias: Omasuyos, Larecaja, Camacho, Muñecas y Bautista Saavedra, y se recolectaron cinco especies silvestres ya descritas (Solanum acaule Bitter, S. achacachense Cárdenas, S. brevicaule (Bitter) Juz and Buk, S. candolleanum Berthault y S. circaeifolium Bitter) y cuatro especies no identificadas. Algunas especies silvestres de papa en Bolivia, como S. achacachense, son raras y se encuentran amenazadas de extinción por la destrucción de su hábitat. En cambio, se registraron nuevas zonas con presencia de S. brevicaule, S. candolleanum y S. circaeifolium. Algunas especies se encuentran afectadas por plagas (Premnotrypes sp.) y por patógenos como Phytophthora infestans. Es la primera vez que se registran papas "Lelekoyas" (S. tuberosum subsp. andigena, una especie primitiva) en el área de influencia del Lago Titicaca. Se evidencian grados de erosión genética, distribución en nuevas áreas geográficas, probables nuevas especies y presencia de P. infestans en algunas especies.

Endemic wild potato species can be found in the Sorata microcentre of potato genetic diversity (Bolivia). This area, which lies at some 2640 m above sea level, is also a region of intensive phurejas potato cultivation. Pressure from the fungus Phytophthora infestans is high. In vitro experiments were performed to assess the resistance of the following potatoes to P. infestans: i) populations of the wild species Solanum acaule (S. acl), S. circaeifolium (S. crc-LA, S. crc-LB and S. crc-CO) and S. achacachense (S. ach), maintained at the Belén Research Station ex situ bank, ii) the reference species S. capsicibaccatum (S. cap), S. berthaultii (S. ber), S. toralapanum (S. tor) and S. sparsipilum (S. spl), and iii) susceptible cultivated varieties of S. phureja (S. phu) and S. tuberosum subsp. andigena (S. adg). The populations of S. acl, S. crc-LA, S. crc-LB and S. crc-CO showed high levels of resistance to P. infestans, while S. ach was very susceptible, in fact even more so than S. phu. S. tor was very resistant, while S. cap, S. ber and S. spl showed susceptibility similar to that of S. phu. The susceptible control S. adg showed the expected response to P. infestans, while that of S. phu was in agreement with its non-specific resistance to this pathogen., En el microcentro de diversidad de papas Sorata, Bolivia, situado a 2640 metros sobre el nivel del mar, algunas especies silvestres tienen distribución endémica, el cultivo de papas phurejas es intensivo y hay alta presión de Phytophthora infestans. Por su resistencia a este hongo, se evaluaron in vitro: i) poblaciones de especies silvestres de Solanum acaule (S. acl), S. circaeifolium (S. crc-LA, S. crc-LB y S. crc-CO) y S. achacachense (S. ach), conservadas en el Banco ex situ de la Estación Experimental Belén; ii) S. capsicibaccatum (S. cap), S. berthaultii (S. ber), S. toralapanum (S. tor) y S. sparsipilum (S. spl), especies de referencia, y iii) variedades cultivadas susceptibles de S. phureja (S. phu) y S. tuberosum subsp. andigena (S. adg). Las poblaciones de S. acl, S. crc-LA, S. crc-LB y S. crc-CO mostraron un alto grado de resistencia a P. infestans. En cambio, S. ach mostró un alto grado de susceptibilidad, incluso superior a S. phu. Las poblaciones de S. tor mostraron alto grado de resistencia, y S. cap, S. ber y S. spl niveles similares de susceptibilidad a S. phu. El testigo susceptible S. adg mostró la esperada susceptibilidad a P. infestans, y S. phu fue concordante con su resistencia no específica al patógeno.

The Id (inhibitor of DNA binding or inhibitor of differentiation) helix-loop-helix proteins are involved in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and cancer. The fact that the molecular mechanisms of liver regeneration are not completely understood prompted us to study the fate of Id2 in proliferating liver. Id2 increases in liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy, following the early induction of its gene. Co-immunoprecipitation shows that Id2 forms a complex with E2F4, p130 and mSin3A in quiescent liver and all these components are present at the c-myc promoter as shown using ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation). Activation of c-myc during hepatocyte priming (G0-G1 transition) correlates with the dissociation of Id2 and HDAC (histone deacetylase), albeit p130 remains bound at least until 6 h. Moreover, as the G0-G1 transition progresses, Id2 and HDAC again bind the c-myc promoter concomitantly with the repression of this gene. The time course of c-myc binding to the Id2 promoter, as determined by ChIP assays is compatible with a role of the oncoprotein as a transcriptional inducer of Id2 in liver regeneration. Immunohistochemical analysis shows that Id2 also increases in proliferating hepatocytes after bile duct ligation. In this case, the pattern of Id2 presence in the c-myc promoter parallels that found in regenerating liver. Our results may suggest a control role for Id2 in hepatocyte priming, through a p130 dissociation-independent regulation of c-myc.

The biological functions of vitamin E have been classically attributed to its property as a potent inhibitor of lipid peroxidation in cellular membranes. However, in 1991, Azzi's group first described that alpha-tocopherol inhibits smooth muscle cell proliferation in a protein kinase C (PKC)-dependent way, demonstrating a non-antioxidant cell signalling function for vitamin E. More recently, the capacity of alpha-tocopherol to modulate gene expression with the implication of different transcription factors, beyond its antioxidant properties, has also been established. This study was to determine the effect of vitamin E-deficiency on liver nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappaB) DNA-binding activity and the response of target antioxidant-defense genes and cell cycle modulators. Rats were fed either control diet or vitamin-E free diet until 60 or 90 days after birth. Vitamin E-deficiency enhanced liver DNA-binding activity of NF-kappaB [electrophoretic mobility-shift assay, (EMSA)] and up-regulated transcription of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-GCSM; gamma-GCSC), cyclin D1 and cyclin E. We also showed down-regulation of p21(Waf1/Cip1) transcription. Western-blot analysis demonstrated that gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase catalytic subunit (gamma-GCSC) and cyclin D1 showed a similar pattern to that found in the RT-PCR analysis. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay demonstrated that NF-kappaB directly regulates transcription of gamma-GCS (both subunits) and cyclin D1 through the binding of NF-kappaB to the corresponding gene promoters, which was enhanced in vitamin E-deficiency. These findings show that vitamin E-deficiency induces significant molecular regulatory properties in liver cells with an altered expression of both antioxidant-defense genes and genes that control the cell cycle and demonstrate that liver NF-kappaB activation is involved in this response. Our results emphasize the importance of maintaining an adequate vitamin E consumption not only to prevent liver oxidative damage but also in modulating signal transduction.

El artículo que presentamos recoge las aportaciones más relevantes de un investigación de corte descriptivo que realizamos recientemente: "Los medios audiovisuales, informáticos y nuevas tecnologías en los centros educativos gallegos: presencia y usos". Este estudio se inscribe dentro de la línea de investigación didáctico-curricular sobre los medios. Sus principales aportaciones constituyen -a nuestro juicio- referentes ineludibles para el diseño de políticas educativas para la integración de los medios en la educación en un contexto en que este tipo de acciones constituyen un objetivo prioritario. Se abordan los principales aspectos didácticos ligados a la integración de los medios y nuevas tecnologías en la educación: formación de profesores, aspectos organizativos para su integración, usos en las prácticas y aspectos relevantes en relación a la adquisición y dotación de medios de los centros. The article that we present picks up the most excellent contributions from a descriptive research that we carry out recently: "The audiovisual media, computer and new technologies in galician educational centers: avaliability and uses". This study tried to know audiovisual media, computer and New Technologies that the professors use in the centers of primary and secondary of Galician community: How they use them and from what previous ideas on the means makes it. It not only approaches the problem in relation to the means in general, but also in relation to each one of the main audiovisual, computer media and NTIC applied to the education. It not only assumes the perspective of the lacks, but also that of the media that the professors prefer and they consider more useful in their practices. It approaches indispensable aspects for the design of formation plans in media because not being limited to the formative deficits, but also considering the vision of the professors the formation should be.

Las posibilidades que ofrecen las TIC para el desarrollo de una enseñanza flexible son diversas, pero el desarrollo de sus aplicaciones en los distintos componentes de proceso de enseñanza no ha avanzado por igual. En este sentido, actualmente se puede hablar de una escasa tradición en el uso de las TIC para la evaluación de los procesos de enseñanza. Las aplicaciones más frecuentes se relacionan con el diseño y aplicación de exámenes (fundamentalmente pruebas objetivas) o con la evaluación del proceso de aprendizaje diseñado exclusivamente con las TIC (cursos informatizados con un sistema de evaluación propio). Las TIC, por sus rasgos definitorios, ofrecen posibilidades para diseñar múltiples instrumentos; organizar la información recogida en el proceso evaluador e interpretarla, facilitando así la comprensión del proceso de aprendizaje. En este trabajo planteamos algunas posibilidades que ofrecen la TIC en el campo de la evaluación. The possibilities that ICT offer for the development of a flexible teaching are diverse, but the development of their applications in the different components of teaching process has not advanced equally. In this sense, at the moment one can speak of a scarce tradition in the use of the ICT for the evaluation of the teaching processes. The most frequent applications are related with the design and application of exams (fundamentally objective tests) or with the evaluation of the learning process designed exclusively with the ICT (courses computerized with an own evaluation system). The ICT offer possibilities to design multiple instruments; to organize the information picked up in the process appraiser and to interpret it, facilitating this way the understanding of the learning process. In this work we outline some possibilities that ICT offer in the field of the evaluation.