Cell type-specific connectome predicts distributed working memory activity in the mouse brain.

Recent advances in connectomics and neurophysiology make it possible to probe whole-brain mechanisms of cognition and behavior. We developed a large-scale model of the multiregional mouse brain for a cardinal cognitive function called working memory, the brain's ability to internally hold and process information without sensory input. The model is built on mesoscopic connectome data for interareal cortical connections and endowed with a macroscopic gradient of measured parvalbumin-expressing interneuron density. We found that working memory coding is distributed yet exhibits modularity; the spatial pattern of mnemonic representation is determined by long-range cell type-specific targeting and density of cell classes. Cell type-specific graph measures predict the activity patterns and a core subnetwork for memory maintenance. The model shows numerous attractor states, which are self-sustained internal states (each engaging a distinct subset of areas). This work provides a framework to interpret large-scale recordings of brain activity during cognition, while highlighting the need for cell type-specific connectomics.

Chemical ecology in conservation biocontrol: new perspectives for plant protection.

Threats to food security require novel sustainable agriculture practices to manage insect pests. One strategy is conservation biological control (CBC), which relies on pest control services provided by local populations of arthropod natural enemies. Research has explored manipulative use of chemical information from plants and insects that act as attractant cues for natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) and repellents of pests. In this review, we reflect on past strategies using chemical ecology in CBC, such as herbivore-induced plant volatiles and the push-pull technique, and propose future directions, including leveraging induced plant defenses in crop plants, repellent insect-based signaling, and genetically engineered crops. Further, we discuss how climate change may disrupt CBC and stress the importance of context dependency and yield outcomes.

Trauma de recto penetrante: revisión de tema / Penetrating rectal trauma: a comprehensive review

Introducción. En la actualidad, el trauma de recto continúa siendo una situación clínica compleja y temida por ser potencialmente mortal. Su detección y manejo temprano es la piedra angular para impactar tanto en la mortalidad como en la morbilidad de los pacientes. Hoy en día, aún existe debate sobre la aproximación quirúrgica ideal en el trauma de recto y las decisiones de manejo intraoperatorias se ven enormemente afectadas por la experiencia y preferencias del cirujano. Métodos. Se realizó una búsqueda de la literatura en las bases de datos de PubMed, Clinical Key, Google Scholar y SciELO utilizando las palabras claves descritas y se seleccionaron los artículos más relevantes publicados en los últimos 20 años; se tuvieron en cuenta los artículos escritos en inglés y español. Discusión. El recto es el órgano menos frecuentemente lesionado en trauma, sin embargo, las implicaciones clínicas que conlleva pasar por alto este tipo de lesiones pueden ser devastadoras para el paciente. Las opciones para el diagnóstico incluyen el tacto rectal, la tomografía computarizada y la rectosigmoidoscopía. El manejo quirúrgico va a depender de la localización, el grado de la lesión y las lesiones asociadas. Conclusión. El conocimiento de la anatomía, el mecanismo de trauma y las lesiones asociadas permitirán al cirujano realizar una aproximación clínico-quirúrgica adecuada que lleve a desenlaces clínicos óptimos de los pacientes que se presentan con trauma de recto.

Introduction. Currently, rectal trauma continues to be a complex clinical and potentially fatal situation. Its early detection and management is the cornerstone to avoid both mortality and morbidity of patients. Today there is still debate about the ideal surgical approach in rectal trauma, and intraoperative management decisions are greatly affected by the experience and preferences of the surgeon. Methods. A literature search was performed in the PubMed, Clinical Key, Google Scholar and SciELO databases using the keywords described. The most relevant articles published in the last 20 years were selected. Articles written in English and Spanish were considered.Discussion. The rectum is the organ less frequently injured in trauma; however, the clinical implications of overlooking this injury can be devastating for the patient. Options for diagnosis include digital rectal examination, computed tomography and rectosigmoidoscopy. Surgical management will depend on the location, degree of the injury and the associated injuries. Conclusion. Knowledge of the anatomy, the mechanism of trauma and the associated injuries will allow the surgeon to make an adequate clinical-surgical approach that leads to optimal clinical outcomes in patients presenting with rectal trauma.

Estructura factorial de la Brief Self-Control Scale en español / Factor structure of the Brief Self-Control Scale in Spanish

Resumen El objetivo del estudio fue explorar la estructura factorial de la Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS; Tangney, Baumeister y Boone, 2004) aplicada como autorreporte a una muestra de 151 participantes en Colombia (edad promedio de 8.2 años, 50.33 % niñas y 49.66 % niños) y 115 participantes en Chile (edad promedio de 7.3 años, 53.04 % niñas y 49.95 % niños). La escala también fue respondida a modo de heterorreporte por 80 madres de los participantes colombianos y las 115 madres de los participantes chilenos. El Análisis Factorial Exploratorio (AFE) arrojó soluciones bifactoriales en todas las muestras y reportó valores de consistencia interna aceptables, aunque la composición de los factores difirió notablemente entre países y entre madres e hijos(as). Los hallazgos se discuten en términos de las diferencias culturales, en la socialización del autocontrol y el desarrollo de la capacidad de autorregulación en los primeros años de la escuela primaria. Se concluye que la medición del autoncontrol en este grupo etáreo mediante la BSCS requiere ajustes.

Abstract The aim of this study was to explore the factor structure of the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS; Tangney, Baumeister and Boone, 2004) used as self-report with a sample of 151 participants in Colombia (mean age 8.2 years, 50.33 % girls and 49.66 % boys) and 115 participants in Chile (mean age 7.3 years, 53.04 % girls and 49.95 % boys). The scale was also answered as a hetero-report by 80 mothers of the Colombian participants and the 115 mothers of the Chilean participants. The Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed bifactor solutions in all samples and reported acceptable internal consistency values, although the composition of the factors differed markedly between countries and between mothers and children. The findings are discussed in terms of cultural differences, in the socialization self-control and development of self-regulation skills in the early elementary school years. According to these findings, the measurement of self-control in this age group using the BSCS requires adjustments.

Evaluation of Terpene-Volatile Compounds Repellent to the Coffee Berry Borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

The coffee berry borer (CBB) is one of the main coffee pests in the world including Colombia. This pest is difficult to manage because of its cryptic habits and the continuous availability of coffee fruits. Among the new management strategies being tested is the use of volatile compounds as insect repellents. In this work, the behavioral response of female adult CBBs to terpenes previously identified in the CBB-repellent plant species Lantana camara was evaluated. α-Terpinene, (R)-limonene, farnesene and ß-caryophyllene terpenes were tested via a Y-tube olfactometer in which ripe coffee fruits were accompanied by terpenes at concentrations between 25 and 200 ppm. Only ß-caryophyllene induced a significant and consistent CBB repellent effect at all tested doses. The protective effect of microencapsulated ß-caryophyllene was then determined under laboratory conditions by incorporating the terpene in a colloidosome-gel system at 2.8 × 105 ng/h in the middle of coffee fruits with adult CBBs. The coffee fruits in turn presented a decrease in fruit infestation. Furthermore, the protection of coffee fruits when ß-caryophyllene gels were hung in coffee trees was evaluated in the field; infestations were artificially induced by the use of raisins (CBB-infested old coffee fruits) placed on the ground. Compared with unprotected trees, the trees treated with caryophyllene gels exhibited a 33 to 45% lower degree of infestation. Taken together, the results show that ß-caryophyllene is a promising compound for an integrated pest management (IPM) program in commercial coffee plantations.

Five new species of Dolichomitus Smith from the tropical Andes, with a key for the South American species (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae).

Dolichomitus Smith is a widely distributed pimpline genus with more than seventy known species. There are eight species previously reported from South America: D. annulicornis (Cameron), D. bivittatus Townes, D. hypermeces Townes, D. jatai Loffredo & Penteado-Dias, D. longicauda Smith, D. megalourus (Morley), D. moacyri Loffredo & Penteado-Dias and D. zonatus (Cresson). In this paper, we describe five new species: D. mariajosae Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. menai Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. orejuelai Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. pimmi Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., and D. rendoni Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov. All have been collected in cloud forests in the Colombian tropical Andes. An illustrated key to the South American species of the genus is also provided.

Engagement of Pulvino-cortical Feedforward and Feedback Pathways in Cognitive Computations.

Computational modeling of brain mechanisms of cognition has largely focused on the cortex, but recent experiments have shown that higher-order nuclei of the thalamus participate in major cognitive functions and are implicated in psychiatric disorders. Here, we show that a pulvino-cortical circuit model, composed of the pulvinar and two cortical areas, captures several physiological and behavioral observations related to the macaque pulvinar. Effective connections between the two cortical areas are gated by the pulvinar, allowing the pulvinar to shift the operation regime of these areas during attentional processing and working memory and resolve conflict in decision making. Furthermore, cortico-pulvinar projections that engage the thalamic reticular nucleus enable the pulvinar to estimate decision confidence. Finally, feedforward and feedback pulvino-cortical pathways participate in frequency-dependent inter-areal interactions that modify the relative hierarchical positions of cortical areas. Overall, our model suggests that the pulvinar provides crucial contextual modulation to cortical computations associated with cognition.

Secuestro pulmonar en adultos: reporte de tres casos y revisión de la literatura / Adult bronchopulmonary sequestration: report of three cases and review of the literature

Resumen El secuestro pulmonar es una enfermedad congénita infrecuente caracterizada por la presencia de una porción de parénquima pulmonar que recibe vascularización independiente de la circulación sistémica. Se presentan tres casos de secuestro pulmonar intralobares, de presentación tardía, uno de ellos asociado a una malformación adenomatosa quística y en los cuales el manejo se completó por videotoracoscopia: dos de ellos con lobectomía total y uno con lobectomía sublobar. Se trata de una enfermedad de presentación clínica variable y cuyo tratamiento es, en la mayoría de los casos, quirúrgico, requiriéndose usualmente resecciones lobares, las cuales pueden llevarse a cabo de manera eficaz y segura por videotoracoscopia.

Abstract Pulmonary sequestration is an infrequent congenital disease characterized by the presence of a portion of pulmonary parenchyma that receives vascularization independent of the systemic circulation. We present three cases of intralobar pulmonary sequestration of late presentation, one of them associated with a cystic adenomatous malformation and in which the management was completed by videothoracoscopy: two of them with total lobectomy and the other with sublobar lobectomy. It is a disease of variable clinical presentation and whose treatment is, in most cases, surgical, usually requiring lobar resections, which can be carried out effectively and safely by video-assisted thoracoscopy.

Working Memory and Decision-Making in a Frontoparietal Circuit Model.

Working memory (WM) and decision-making (DM) are fundamental cognitive functions involving a distributed interacting network of brain areas, with the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) at the core. However, the shared and distinct roles of these areas and the nature of their coordination in cognitive function remain poorly understood. Biophysically based computational models of cortical circuits have provided insights into the mechanisms supporting these functions, yet they have primarily focused on the local microcircuit level, raising questions about the principles for distributed cognitive computation in multiregional networks. To examine these issues, we developed a distributed circuit model of two reciprocally interacting modules representing PPC and PFC circuits. The circuit architecture includes hierarchical differences in local recurrent structure and implements reciprocal long-range projections. This parsimonious model captures a range of behavioral and neuronal features of frontoparietal circuits across multiple WM and DM paradigms. In the context of WM, both areas exhibit persistent activity, but, in response to intervening distractors, PPC transiently encodes distractors while PFC filters distractors and supports WM robustness. With regard to DM, the PPC module generates graded representations of accumulated evidence supporting target selection, while the PFC module generates more categorical responses related to action or choice. These findings suggest computational principles for distributed, hierarchical processing in cortex during cognitive function and provide a framework for extension to multiregional models.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Working memory and decision-making are fundamental "building blocks" of cognition, and deficits in these functions are associated with neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. These cognitive functions engage distributed networks with prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) at the core. It is not clear, however, what the contributions of PPC and PFC are in light of the computations that subserve working memory and decision-making. We constructed a biophysical model of a reciprocally connected frontoparietal circuit that revealed shared and distinct functions for the PFC and PPC across working memory and decision-making tasks. Our parsimonious model connects circuit-level properties to cognitive functions and suggests novel design principles beyond those of local circuits for cognitive processing in multiregional brain networks.

Children's Self-Regulation in Cultural Contexts: The Role of Parental Socialization Theories, Goals, and Practices.

Self-regulation is a complex multidimensional construct which has been approached mainly in Western cultural contexts. The present contribution examines the importance of considering the culture-sensitive nature of self-regulation by reviewing theory and research on the development of children's self-regulation in different cultural contexts. This review of theory and research allows to suggest that widely shared values in a cultural group influence parental socialization theories, goals, and practices, which in turn have an impact on how children learn to self-regulate, the forms of self-regulation they develop, and the goals associated with self-regulation. Thus, this article concludes that more specific research is required to relate both the developmental and the cultural aspects of children's self-regulation.