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We characterize the stationary points along the Walden inversion, front-side attack, and double-inversion pathways of the X– + CH3Y and X– + SiH3Y [X, Y = F, Cl, Br, I] SN2 reactions using chemically accurate CCSD(T)-F12b/aug-cc-pVnZ [n = D, T, Q] levels of theory. At the carbon center, Walden inversion dominates and proceeds via prereaction (X–···H3CY) and postreaction (XCH3···Y–) ion-dipole wells separated by a usually submerged transition state (X–H3C–Y)−, front-side attack occurs over high barriers, double inversion is the lowest-energy retention pathway for X = F, and hydrogen- (F–···HCH2Y) and halogen-bonded (X–···YCH3) complexes exist in the entrance channel. At the silicon center, Walden inversion proceeds through a single minimum (X–SiH3–Y)−, the front-side attack is competitive via a usually submerged transition state separating pre- and postreaction minima having X–Si–Y angles close to 90°, double inversion occurs over positive, often high barriers, and hydrogen- and halogen-bonded complexes are not found. In addition to the SN2 channels (Y– + CH3X/SiH3X), we report reaction enthalpies for proton abstraction (HX + CH2Y–/SiH2Y–), hydride substitution (H– + CH2XY/SiH2XY), XH···Y– complex formation (XH···Y– + 1CH2/1SiH2), and halogen abstraction (XY + CH3–/SiH3– and XY– + CH3/SiH3).

We explored the neural signatures of face familiarity using cross-participant and cross-experiment decoding of event-related potentials, evoked by unknown and experimentally familiarized faces from a set of experiments with different participants, stimuli, and familiarization-types. Participants were either familiarized perceptually, via media exposure, or by personal interaction. We observed significant cross-experiment familiarity decoding involving all three experiments, predominantly over posterior and central regions of the right hemisphere in the 270 – 630 ms time window. This shared face familiarity effect was most prominent between the Media and Personal, as well as between the Perceptual and Personal experiments. Cross-experiment decodability makes this signal a strong candidate for a general neural indicator of face familiarity, independent of familiarization methods and stimuli. Furthermore, the sustained pattern of temporal generalization suggests that it reflects a single automatic processing cascade that is maintained over time.HighlightsWe investigated if a general neural signature of face familiarity existA cross-experiment decoding analysis of EEG data was usedThe analysis involved perceptual, media and personal familiarization methodsWe found a preserved pattern of familiarity decoding across experiments between 270 and 630 ms post-stimulusThis signature is consistent with previous reports on face familiarity effects

The recognition of objects is strongly facilitated when they are presented in the context of other objects (Biederman, 1972). Such contexts facilitate perception and induce expectations of context-congruent objects (Trapp & Bar, 2015). The neural mechanisms underlying these facilitatory effects of context on object processing, however, are not yet fully understood. In the present study, we investigate how context-induced expectations affect subsequent object processing. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and measured repetition suppression, a proxy for prediction error processing, for pairs of alternating or repeated object images, preceded by context-congruent, context-incongruent or neutral cues. We found a stronger repetition suppression in congruent as compared to incongruent or neutral cues in the object sensitive lateral occipital cortex. Interestingly, this effect was driven by enhanced responses to alternating stimulus pairs in the congruent contexts. In addition, in the congruency condition, we discovered significant functional connectivity between object-responsive and frontal cortical regions, as well as between object-responsive regions and the fusiform gyrus. Our findings unravel the neural mechanisms underlying context facilitation.

Most findings on prosopagnosia to date suggest preserved voice recognition in prosopagnosia (except in cases with bilateral lesions). Here we report a follow-up examination on M.T., suffering from acquired prosopagnosia following a large unilateral right-hemispheric lesion in frontal, parietal, and anterior temporal areas excluding core ventral occipitotemporal face areas. Twenty-three years after initial testing we reassessed face and object recognition skills [Henke, K., Schweinberger, S. R., Grigo, A., Klos, T.,Sommer, W. (1998). Specificity of face recognition: Recognition of exemplars of non-face objects in prosopagnosia.

Repeated presentation of a stimulus leads to reductions in measures of neural responses. This phenomenon, termed repetition suppression (RS), has recently been conceptualized using models based on predictive coding, which describe RS as due to expectations that are weighted toward recently-seen stimuli. To evaluate these models, researchers have manipulated the likelihood of stimulus repetition within experiments. They have reported findings that are inconsistent across hemodynamic and electrophysiological measures, and difficult to interpret as clear support or refutation of predictive coding models. We instead investigated a different type of expectation effect that is apparent in stimulus repetition experiments: the difference in one’s ability to predict the identity of repeated, compared to unrepeated, stimuli. In previous experiments that presented pairs of repeated or alternating images, once participants had seen the first stimulus image in a pair, they could form specific expectations about the repeated stimulus image. However they could not form such expectations for the alternating image, which was often randomly chosen from a large stimulus set. To assess the contribution of stimulus predictability effects to previously observed RS, we measured BOLD signals while presenting pairs of repeated and alternating faces. This was done in contexts whereby stimuli in alternating trials were either i.) predictable through statistically learned associations between pairs of stimuli or ii.) chosen randomly and therefore unpredictable. We found that RS in the right FFA was much larger in trials with unpredictable compared to predictable alternating faces. This was primarily due to unpredictable alternating stimuli evoking larger BOLD signals than predictable alternating stimuli. We show that imbalances in stimulus predictability across repeated and alternating trials can greatly inflate measures of RS, or even mimic RS effects. Our findings also indicate that stimulus-specific expectations, as described by predictive coding models, may account for a sizeable portion of observed RS effects.

Recent theories on the neural correlates of face identification stressed the importance of the available identity-specific semantic and affective information. However, whether such information is essential for the emergence of neural signal of familiarity has not yet been studied in detail.Here, we explored the shared representation of face familiarity between perceptually and personally familiarized identities. We applied a cross-experiment multivariate pattern classification analysis (MVPA), to test if EEG patterns for passive viewing of personally familiar and unfamiliar faces are useful in decoding familiarity in a matching task where familiarity was attained thorough a short perceptual task. Importantly, no additional semantic, contextual, or affective information was provided for the familiarized identities during perceptual familiarization. Although the two datasets originate from different sets of participants who were engaged in two different tasks, familiarity was still decodable in the sorted, same identity matching trials.This finding indicates that the visual processing of the faces of personally familiar and purely perceptually familiarized identities involve similar mechanisms, leading to cross-classifiable neural patterns.

Aim To explore how levels of managerial support discriminate paediatric nurses' burnout, quality of life, intent to leave and adverse patient events. Design A quantitative correlational study. Methods A total of 225 paediatric nurses were selected from nine major hospitals across Jordan. The main measures used were the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and the brief version of World Health Organization‐Quality of Life Instrument. The study methods were compliant with the STROBE checklist. Results Nurse manager support was negatively associated with adverse patient events, work‐related burnout, client‐related burnout, and intent to leave; and positively with physical and psychological quality of life. Frequency of nosocomial infections characterized low manager support, whereas medication errors described high support. Greater nurse manager support decreased the likelihood of adverse patient outcomes.

In our everyday life, we continuously get to know people, dominantly through their faces. Several neuroscientific experiments showed that familiarization changes the behavioral processing and underlying neural representation of faces of others. Here, we propose a model of the process of how we actually get to know someone. First, the purely visual familiarization of unfamiliar faces occurs. Second, the accumulation of associated, nonsensory information refines person representation, and finally, one reaches a stage where the effortless identification of very well-known persons occurs. We offer here an overview of neuroimaging studies, first evaluating how and in what ways the processing of unfamiliar and familiar faces differs and, second, by analyzing the fMRI adaptation and multivariate pattern analysis results we estimate where identity-specific representation is found in the brain. The available neuroimaging data suggest that different aspects of the information emerge gradually as one gets more and more familiar with a person within the same network. We propose a novel model of familiarity and identity processing, where the differential activation of long-term memory and emotion processing areas is essential for correct identification.

The magnitude of repetition suppression (RS) is modulated by the probability of stimulus repetitions when measured by fMRI. This repetition probability effect (P(rep)) is usually expressed in a stronger RS when the probability of repetition trials is higher when compared to blocks with less frequent repetitions. Previous studies have suggested that the P(rep) effect depends on the extensive long-term experience of participants with the stimuli. At the same time, the how short-term learning affects RS and its modulation by P(rep) remains largely unknown. To address this issue, we used fMRI and measured the RS and its modulation by P(rep) for non-face objects (cars) before and after a 10-day long perceptual learning (PL) period and for unfamiliar faces as control. The results showed a significant P(rep) effect for faces within the Fusiform Face Area (FFA) and for cars within the Lateral Occipital Complex (LO) in the pre-training fMRI measurement session. Following the PL period, participants exhibited strong improvements in the subordinate categorization of the trained stimuli. Surprisingly, the magnitude of RS did not change as a function of training, but the P(rep) effect was absent in the post-training fMRI sessions for both stimulus categories. These results suggest that the predictive processes, measured by P(rep) modulation of RS, may be modulated by the short-term perceptual learning experience.

Recognizing a face as familiar is essential in our everyday life. However, 'familiarity' covers a wide range - from people we see every day to those we barely know. Although face recognition is studied extensively, little is known about how the degree of familiarity affects neural face processing, despite the critical social importance of this dimension. Here we report the results of a multivariate cross-classification EEG experiment, where we study the temporal representational dynamics of the degree of familiarity. Participants viewed highly variable face images of 20 identities. Importantly, we measured face familiarity using subjective familiarity ratings in addition to testing explicit knowledge and reaction times in a face matching task. A machine learning algorithm, trained to discriminate familiar and unfamiliar faces from a separate study, was used to predict the degree of face familiarity from the pattern of the EEG data. We found that the neural representations of the degree of familiarity emerge between 400 - 600 msec post-stimulus onset for famous persons. The correlation between decoding performance and behavioral familiarity was more reliable, occurred earlier and lasted longer when personally familiar and viewers' own faces were included in the analysis. Our findings provide new insights into how the brain represents faces with various degrees of familiarity and show that the degree of familiarity can be decoded reliably from the EEG at a relatively late time window. These results support the idea that representations of familiar faces form part of a general neural signature of the familiarity component of recognition memory processes.

The influence of meteorological parameters on the health status of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) was analyzed using long term datasets (1989-2010) collected in 15 sample plots located in Hungary’s main beech regions. Leaf loss values were correlated with different meteorological parameters as explanatory variables. Analysis was performed by the CReMIT (Cyclic Reverse Moving Intervals Techniques) method. Weather, stand, and site parameters were also examined with PCA for comparison. Leaf loss levels showed stronger correlations with maximum monthly temperatures than with monthly precipitation sums. The monthly number of summer days and monthly number of hot days displayed a similar correlation to leaf loss as the maximum monthly temperature did. The correlations were regularly stronger and more frequent on more arid sites where the climate is less favorable for beech. Temperature affected leaf loss more than precipitation did. Our results show that beech forests may suffer heavy damage if climate change continues as projected.

Most artists who create abstract paintings place the pictorial elements not at random, but arrange them intentionally in a specific artistic composition. This arrangement results in a pattern of image properties that differs from image versions in which the same pictorial elements are randomly shuffled. In the article under discussion, the original abstract paintings of the author’s image set were rated as more ordered and harmonious but less interesting than their shuffled counterparts. The authors tested whether the human brain distinguishes between these original and shuffled images by recording electrical brain activity in a particular paradigm that evokes a so-called visual mismatch negativity. The results revealed that the brain detects the differences between the two types of images fast and automatically. These findings are in line with models that postulate a significant role of early (low-level) perceptual processing of formal image properties in aesthetic evaluations.

BACKGROUND/AIM In spite of early detection, appoximately 15% of the small renal cell carcinomas (RCC) will develop metastasis within 5 years follow-up. The aim of this study was to identify new biomarkers to estimate the postoperative relapse of the most common conventional RCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS Tissue multi arrays of conventional RCC without metastasis at the time of operation from a cohort of 634 patients were analysed by immunohistochemistry for expression of the chitinase 3-like protein 2 (CHI3L2). Cancer specific survival of patients was estimated with Kaplan-Meier analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression models. RESULTS Kaplan-Meier analysis estimated a shorter cancer-free survival for patients with CHI3L2 positive tumors. In multivariate analysis, the CHI3L2 positivity associated with a 3.5 times higher risk for tumor relapse (p

Using cross-experiment multivariate classification of EEG patterns, in a recent study we found evidence for a shared familiarity signal for faces, patterns of neural activity that successfully separate trials for familiar and unfamiliar faces across participants and modes of familiarization. Here, our aim was to expand upon this research to further characterize the spatio-temporal properties of this signal. By utilizing the information content present for incidental exposure to personally familiar and unfamiliar faces, we tested how the information content in the neural signal unfolds over time under different task demands – giving truthful or deceptive responses to photographs of genuinely familiar and unfamiliar individuals. For this goal, we re-analyzed data from two previously published experiments using within-experiment leave-one-subject-out and cross-experiment classification of face familiarity. We observed that the general face familiarity signal, consistent with its previously described spatio-temporal properties, is present for long-term personally familiar faces under passive viewing, as well as for acknowledged and concealed familiarity responses. Also, central-posterior regions contain information related to deception. We propose that signals in the 200-400 ms window are modulated by top-down task-related anticipation, while the patterns in the 400-600 ms window are influenced by conscious effort to deceive. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the representational dynamics of concealed knowledge for faces.HighlightsPrevious studies found a robust EEG effect for face-familiarity in the 200-600 ms post-stimulus range.This neural pattern was found to be shared across participants and modes of familiarization.We used incidental exposure as a template to probe information content for acknowledged and concealed familiarityThe shared familiarity signal is modulated differentially in early (200-400 ms) and late (post-400 ms) windowsCross-experiment classification is a promising tool to investigate how cognitive processes unfold under different conditions

Sterlet Acipenser ruthenus is the smallest in size, early maturing, yet third in production scale among the sturgeon species and as such presents a good model to study reproductive biology. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of preseason artificial reproduction and reduction of hormonal dosage on the egg quality in pond-reared sterlet. Therefore, a series of three trials were conducted in the period 2021 and 2022 (21 and 22) that evaluated three dosages of mammalian gonadotropin releasing hormone analog des-Gly

Identifying the faces of familiar persons requires the ability to assign several different images of a face to a common identity. Previous research showed that the occipito-temporal cortex, including the fusiform and the occipital face areas, is sensitive to personal identity. Still, the viewpoint, facial expression and image-independence of this information are currently under heavy debate. Here we adapted a rapid serial visual stimulation paradigm Johnston et al. (2016, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2016.10.002) and presented highly variable ambient-face images of famous persons to measure functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) adaptation. fMRI adaptation is considered as the neuroimaging manifestation of repetition suppression, a neural phenomenon currently explained as a correlate of reduced predictive error responses for expected stimuli. We revisited the question of image-invariant identity-specific encoding mechanisms of the occipito-temporal cortex, using fMRI adaptation with a particular interest in predictive mechanisms. Participants were presented with trials containing eight different images of a famous person, images of eight different famous persons or seven different images of a particular famous person followed by an identity change to violate potential expectation effects about person identity. We found an image-independent adaptation effect of identity for famous faces in the fusiform face area. However, in contrast to previous electrophysiological studies, using similar paradigms, no release of the adaptation effect was observed when identity-specific expectations were violated. Our results support recent multivariate pattern analysis studies, showing image-independent identity encoding in the core face-processing areas of the occipito-temporal cortex. These results are discussed in the frame of recent identity-processing models and predictive mechanisms.

The magnitude of repetition suppression (RS), measured by fMRI, is modulated by the probability of repetitions (P(rep)) for various sensory stimulus categories. It has been suggested that for visually presented simple letters this P(rep) effect depends on the prior practices of the participants with the stimuli. Here we tested further if previous experiences affect the neural mechanisms of RS, leading to the modulatory effects of stimulus P(rep), for more complex lexical stimuli as well. We measured the BOLD signal in the Visual Word Form Area (VWFA) of native Chinese and German participants and estimated the P(rep) effects for Chinese characters and German words. The results showed a significant P(rep) effect for stimuli of the mother tongue in both participant groups. Interestingly, Chinese participants, learning German as a second language, also showed a significant P(rep) modulation of RS for German words while the German participants who had no prior experiences with the Chinese characters showed no such effects. Our findings suggest that P(rep) effects on RS are manifest for visual word processing as well, but only for words of a language with which participants are highly familiar. These results support further the idea that predictive processes, estimated by P(rep) modulations of RS, require prior experiences.

Seasonal reproduction of domesticated pikeperch has been the most critical spawning batch in several European countries. The present study aimed to monitor oocyte growth between mid-November and seasonal spawning to evaluate if oocyte growth trends may predict egg quality. Nineteen sexually mature females were monitored for oocyte sizes every two months. In mid-March, fish were transported to the indoor facility and artificially reproduced. Sixteen females ovulated and egg quality parameters were assessed and further related to oocyte sizes measured in November, January, and March, as well as to size increments between samplings. Based on the oocyte diameters, fish were assigned to two size groups, and the egg quality was compared. Oocyte growth was greater between the first two samplings compared to the consecutive period (150.1 ± 16.5 µm vs 24.7 ± 20.4 µm). Diameters assessed in November and March positively correlated with oil globule fragmentation, while diameters assessed in November and January positively correlated with larval malformation. Although in January larger oocytes showed better embryo survival than smaller ones (60.6 ± 9.5% vs 37.8 ± 23.2%,) they were characterized with greater percent of malformed larvae (25.0 ± 22.0% vs 5.4 ± 3.9%). It appears that fish with bigger oocytes in pre-season have an affinity toward increased embryo survival, however, they seem to have an issue with oil globule fragmentation and larvae malformation in case of seasonal spawning. Therefore, the selection of breeders for either pre-seasonal or seasonal reproduction batch according to the November oocyte size is recommended.

In aquaculture, disease management and pathogen control are key for a successful fish farming industry. In past years, European catfish farming has been flourishing. However, devastating fish pathogens including limiting fish viruses are considered a big threat to further expanding of the industry. Even though mainly the ranavirus (Iridoviridea) and circovirus (Circoviridea) infections are considered well- described in European catfish, more other agents including herpes-, rhabdo or papillomaviruses are also observed in the tissues of catfish with or without any symptoms. The etiological role of these viruses has been unclear until now. Hence, there is a requisite for more detailed information about the latter and the development of preventive and therapeutic approaches to complete them. In this review, we summarize recent knowledge about viruses that affect the European catfish and describe their origin, distribution, molecular characterisation, and phylogenetic classification. We also highlight the knowledge gaps, which need more in-depth investigations in the future.

Expression of KRT17 has been described in multi-layered epithelia as well as in tumors derived from these cells. In cancers arising from KRT17 negative single layered epithelia neo-expression of KRT17 has been associated with tumor progression. To obtain more insight into the biology of kidney cancers we have investigated KRT17 expression by immunohistochemistry in normal kidney, in papillary preneoplastic lesions and in 151 papillary and 692 conventional renal cell carcinomas placed on tissue microarray. We found a positive staining in ureteric bud and collecting duct cells in foetal kidney, in all papillary preneoplastic lesions and also in 77% of the 151 papillary renal cell tumors indicating a continuos KRT17 expression during tumor development. The neo-expression of KRT17 in conventional renal cell carcinomas, which derives from KRT17 negative proximal tubules showed a significant correlation with postoperative tumor relapse (RR=2.50; 95% CI=1.59-3.94; p

Background A growing body of evidence suggests that the comparison of expected and incoming sensory stimuli (the prediction-error (e) processing) is impaired in schizophrenia patients (SZ). For example, in studies of mismatch negativity, an ERP component that signals e, SZ patients show deficits in the auditory and visual modalities. To test the role of impaired e processing further in SZ, using neuroimaging methods, we applied a repetition-suppression (RS) paradigm. Methods Patients diagnosed with SZ (n = 17) as well as age- and sex- matched healthy control subjects (HC, n = 17) were presented with pairs of faces, which could either repeat or alternate. Additionally, the likelihood of repetition/alternation trials was modulated in individual blocks of fMRI recordings, testing the effects of repetition probability (P(rep)) on RS. Results We found a significant RS in the fusiform and occipital face areas as well as in the lateral occipital cortex that was similar in healthy controls and SZ patients SZ. More importantly, we observed similar P(rep) effects (larger RS in blocks with high frequency of repetitions than in blocks with low repetition likelihood) in both the control and the patient group. Conclusion Our findings suggest that repetition_probability modulations affect the neural responses in schizophrenia patients and healthy participants similarly. This suggests that the neural mechanisms determining perceptual inferences based on stimulus probabilities remain unimpaired in schizophrenia.

This study investigated the habitat selection of the Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) during the breeding season of 2014 in an intensively managed agricultural environment (LAJTA Project, North-West Hungary). In order to assess the habitat preferences of the Common Quail, habitat composition around occupied plots were compared with unoccupied control plots. To characterize the habitat, a total of 11 variables related to vegetation structure and diversity, food availability and landscape were quantified. Multivariate methods (PCA and GLMs) were used to distinguish the main factors influencing habitat selection and to model the presence of the Common Quail. Based on our results, in the LAJTA Project, high probability of Common Quail presence can be predicted in plots with higher herbaceous cover and more abundant arthropod communities. The network of ecotone habitats, particularly the proximity to woody habitats, also appeared to have significant importance during the breeding season.

The aim of the present study was to compare the weight, specific growth rate, length, Fulton's condition factor, survival, mortality, cannibalism and gill histopathology (HP) of pikeperch Sander lucioperca (L. 1758) larvae (12days post-hatch larvae; weight 2.8 +/- 0.9mg) that were cultured in either clear (10 NTU) or clay-turbid water (35 NTU) during a 14-day interval, with an additional 7days of rearing in clear water for both groups. Though higher survival was found in turbid water treatment (15.4 +/- 1.0% vs. 9.4 +/- 3.6%), none of the parameters differed significantly between groups, except during the first 4days of the trial when turbid water significantly decreased the mortality of pikeperch larvae. Concerning HP alterations, a difference between groups in this study was confirmed, since hyperplasia of epithelium and total HP index were statistically higher in the group reared in turbid water. The majority of HP alterations increased during the course of the trial in both groups. The findings in this study confirmed some benefits of using kaolin clay in larval rearing of pikeperch but also showed some adverse effects on the morphology of their branchial apparatus.

Pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) is a native fish species in the European and Asian basin, representing high natural and economical value. However, our information on the genetic background and diversity of European populations is still limited, despite of that the production and the number of bread stocks has increased significantly in the last decade. Our aim was to develop new useable species-specific microsatellites and compare genetic diversity of ten pikeperch population from the Danube drainage basin. Thirty-four novel species-specific DNA markers were isolated and seven polymorphic microsatellite markers were selected for the population genetic analysis. The results indicated strong anthropogenic effects among the populations. The FST estimated by the method of Weir and Cockerham (1984) was 0.214, showing moderate genetic difference among the populations. The Structure analysis and the neighbour-joining dendrogram are showing the same result: the ten examined populations aggregate six genetically distinct units. Significant lack of heterozygosity was detected in most of the populations. Presumably, it is indicating the effects of human activities and such as vigorous stocking of natural waters. In addition, the effect was proved that fish stocks involved in pond culture and RAS rearing do not necessarily originated from the geographically closest natural populations.

Human learning depends on multiple cognitive systems related to dissociable brain structures. These systems interact not only in cooperative but also in competitive ways in optimizing performance. Previous studies have shown that manipulations reducing the engagement of frontal lobe-mediated control and attentional processes can lead to improved performance in striatum-related learning processes. These studies, however, used correlational methods only. The aim of the present study was to directly test the causal role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in striatum-mediated implicit statistical learning and its consolidation using brain stimulation. Healthy young adults were trained on a probabilistic sequence learning task. 1 Hz transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or sham stimulation of both the left and right dorsolateral PFCs (DLPFC) was applied intermittently during the learning session to disrupt frontal lobe functions. To assess the lasting effects of TMS on learning and consolidation, statistical learning performance (i.e., increased reaction times for sequences with high as compared to low probabilities) was tested ten minutes, two hours, and 24 hours later. In line with the predictions of a competitive relationship between DLPFC functions and statistical learning, the DLPFC stimulation group showed better performance compared to the sham group after the 24-hour consolidation period. This finding suggests that the disruption of DLPFC induced qualitative changes in picking up statistical regularities during learning that became salient in behavior after a stabilization period. Our results support an antagonistic relationship between the brain networks of automatic and controlled processes.

Hungary is one of the largest common carp-production countries in Europe and now, there is a large number of local breeds and strains in the country. For proper maintenance of the animal genetic resources, information on their genetic diversity and structure is essential. At present, few data are available on the genetic purity and variability of the Hungarian common carp. In this study, we genetically analyzed 13 strains in Hungary and, in addition, the Amur wild carp, using 12 microsatellite markers. A total of 117 unique alleles were detected in 630 individuals. Low levels of genetic differentiation (Fst and Cavalli&ndash, Sforza and Edwards distance) were estimated among strains. The AMOVA showed the low but significant level of genetic differentiation among strains (3.79%). Bayesian clustering analysis using STRUCTURE classified the strains into 14 different clusters. The assignment test showed that 93.64% of the individuals could be assigned correctly into their original strain. Overall, our findings can be contributed to complementing scientific knowledge for conservation and management of threatened strains of common carp.

Expectation suppression is defined as a reduction in a measure of neural activity following an expected stimulus compared to a stimulus that is neither expected nor surprising. Reports of expectation suppression have shaped the development of several influential predictive coding-based theories of visual perception. However recent work has highlighted multiple confounding factors that may mimic or inflate observed expectation suppression effects. In this review, we describe four confounds that are prevalent across studies that have tested for expectation suppression: surprise-related response modulations, effects of attention, stimulus repetition and adaptation, and effects of stimulus novelty. With these confounds in mind we then critically review the evidence for expectation suppression across probabilistic cueing, statistical learning, oddball, action-outcome learning and apparent motion designs. We report that there is evidence for expectation suppression within a specific subset of statistical learning designs that involved weeks of sequence learning prior to neural activity measurement. However, across other experimental contexts, whereby stimulus appearance probabilities were learned within one or two testing sessions, there was a lack of consistent evidence for genuine expectation suppression within the visual system that cannot be accounted for by confounding factors. To underline the importance of devising more appropriate tests for expectation suppression we discuss how an absence of this effect would inform models of predictive processing, repetition suppression and perceptual decision-making. We also provide suggestions for designing experiments that may better test for stimulus expectation effects in future work.

The successful recognition of familiar persons is critical for social interactions. Despite extensive research on the neural representations of familiar faces, we know little about how such representations unfold as someone becomes familiar. In three EEG experiments on human participants of both sexes, we elucidated how representations of face familiarity and identity emerge from different qualities of familiarization: brief perceptual exposure (Experiment 1), extensive media familiarization (Experiment 2), and real-life personal familiarization (Experiment 3). Time-resolved representational similarity analysis revealed that familiarization quality has a profound impact on representations of face familiarity: they were strongly visible after personal familiarization, weaker after media familiarization, and absent after perceptual familiarization. Across all experiments, we found no enhancement of face identity representation, suggesting that familiarity and identity representations emerge independently during face familiarization. Our results emphasize the importance of extensive, real-life familiarization for the emergence of robust face familiarity representations, constraining models of face perception and recognition memory. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Despite extensive research on the neural representations of familiar faces, we know little about how such representations unfold as someone becomes familiar. To elucidate how face representations change as we get familiar with someone, we conducted three EEG experiments where we used brief perceptual exposure, extensive media familiarization, or real-life personal familiarization. Using multivariate representational similarity analysis, we demonstrate that the method of familiarization has a profound impact on face representations, and emphasize the importance of real-life familiarization. Additionally, familiarization shapes representations of face familiarity and identity differently: as we get to know someone, familiarity signals seem to appear before the formation of identity representations.

Background/aim End-stage kidney disease is characterized by chronic inflammation and frequent development of cancer. The level of circulating vitamin D is generally low in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Experimental studies have implicated the role of dysfunctional vitamin D metabolism in tumorigenesis. Patients and methods We analyzed the expression of vitamin D receptor (VDR), cytochrome P450 family 27 subfamily B member 1 (CYP27B1) and cytochrome P450 family 24 subfamily A member 1 (CYP24A1), the key genes involved in vitamin D signaling, in kidneys from patients with ESRD, tissue microarrays containing ESRD-associated renal cell tumors, as well as in their precursor lesions by immunohistochemistry. Results Kidneys from patients with ESRD showed strong structural rearrangement with only few tubules and epithelial cell groups embedded in fibrotic-inflammatory stroma. Only an estimated 1-3% of the epithelial cells showed positive staining with antibodies to VDR, CYP27B1 and CYP24A1, which contrasted with the 100%, 40-50% and 40-50% of positively stained cells, respectively, found in normal kidneys. Down-regulation of the vitamin D signaling proteins was found in patients with renal cancer, with the exception of tumors and their precursors occurring exclusively in ESRD. Conclusion The significantly reduced activity of CYP27B1 in kidney from patients with ESRD explains the low level of circulating vitamin D. We suggest that the lack of anti-tumorigenic effect of vitamin D is a crucial factor in the frequent development of unique types of renal cell cancer in in patients with ESRD.

The ability to predict others’ behaviour represents a crucial mechanism which allows individuals to react faster and more appropriately. To date, several studies have investigated humans’ ability to predict conspecifics’ behaviour, but little is known on our ability to predict behaviour in other species. Here, we aimed to test humans’ ability to predict social behaviour in dogs, macaques and humans, and assess the role played by experience and evolution on the emergence of this ability. For this purpose, we presented participants with short videoclips of real-life social interactions in dog, child and macaque dyads, and then asked them to predict the outcome of the observed interactions (i.e. aggressive, neutral or playful). Participants were selected according to their previous species-specific experience with dogs, children and non-human primates. Our results showed a limited effect of experience on the ability to predict the outcome of social interactions, which was mainly restricted to macaques. Moreover, we found no support to the co-domestication hypothesis, in that participants were not especially skilled at predicting dog behaviour. Finally, aggressive outcomes in dogs were predicted significantly worse than playful or neutral ones. Based on our findings, we suggest possible lines for future research, like the inclusion of other primate species and the assessment of cultural factors on the ability to predict behaviour across species. Introduction Methods - Ethical statement. - Participants. - Materials and procedure. - Statistical analyses. Results Discussion