Attention modulates topology and dynamics of auditory sensory gating.

This work challenges the widely accepted model of sensory gating as a preattention inhibitory process by investigating whether attention directed at the second tone (S2) within a paired-click paradigm could affect gating at the cortical level. We utilized magnetoencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging and spatio-temporal source localization to compare the cortical dynamics underlying gating responses across two conditions (passive and attention) in 19 healthy subjects. Source localization results reaffirmed the existence of a fast processing pathway between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and bilateral superior temporal gyri (STG) that underlies the auditory gating process.

Early skeletal colonization of the coral holobiont by the microboring Ulvophyceae Ostreobium sp.

Ostreobium sp. (Bryopsidales, Ulvophyceae) is a major microboring alga involved in tropical reef dissolution, with a proposed symbiotic lifestyle in living corals. However, its diversity and colonization dynamics in host's early life stages remained unknown.

Raman Characterization of the UV-Protective Pigment Gloeocapsin and Its Role in the Survival of Cyanobacteria.

Extracellular UV-screening pigments gloeocapsin and scytonemin present in the exopolysaccharide (EPS) envelopes of extremophilic cyanobacteria of freshwater and marine environments were studied by Raman spectroscopy and compared to their intracellular photosynthetic pigments. This Raman spectral analysis of the extracellular pigment gloeocapsin showed that it shared Raman spectral signatures with parietin, a radiation-protective pigment known in lichens. The UV-light spectra also show similarities.

Supratidal Extremophiles--Cyanobacterial Diversity in the Rock Pools of the Croatian Adria.

Hardly any molecular studies have been done on euendoliths of marine coastal environments, especially along the supratidal ranges of carbonate coasts. In our study, we provide a comparative sequence analysis using 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene combined with extensive microscopy of the endolithic community from rock pools of the Croatian Adria. Molecular diversity indices and richness estimates showed high level of diversity, particularly in high-salinity samples.