This study was financially supported by the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq; Edital Universal 475641/2007-8).

JMLC, MB-N and AB are senior investigators from CNPq. “
“A growing number of studies have shown that hormonal and immune alterations resulting from chronic stress and other behavioral conditions may influence cancer development and progression (Reiche et al., 2004, Thaker et al., 2007, Antoni et al., 2006 and Lillberg et al., 2003). Chronic stress is associated with dysregulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, with consequent increase in the production of the hormone cortisol, and elevated levels of norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E), which are catecholamines released from the adrenal medulla and the neurons of the sympathetic nervous system INCB024360 nmr (SNS) (Thaker et al., 2007 and Glaser and Kiecolt-Glaser, 2005). Neurohormonal products derived from chronic stress may reduce the natural killer cell cytotoxicity by inhibiting the response of cells to certain cytokines such as interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) (Kiecolt-Glaser and Glaser, 1999 and Esterling et al., 1996). Stress hormones also have the ability to act directly on tumor cells and to deregulate the EGFR inhibitor production of cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors that are related to cancer development and progression

(Reiche et al., 2004, Antoni et al., 2006 and Ardestani et al., 1999). For example, studies on ovarian cancer have shown that catecholamines enhance the expression of substances such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which are known to influence tumor progression (Lutgendorf et al., 2003, Sood et al., 2006 and Yang et al., 2008).

Other investigations have demonstrated that the neurohormonal products derived from chronic stress influence skin (Saul et al., 2005), breast (Ben-Eliyahu et al., 1991), lung (Melamed et al., 2005), and colon (Lointier et al., 1992) cancer progression. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine that plays an important role in angiogenesis and tumoral progression (Heikkilä et al., 2008). The head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell line secrete IL-6 (Chakravarti et al., 2006), and a high level of this cytokine has been Adenosine detected in the saliva and blood of patients with HNSCC (Rhodus et al., 2005 and Duffy et al., 2008). In-vitro studies have described that IL-6 stimulates cell proliferation (Chakravarti et al., 2006) and bone invasion of OSCC cells (Okamoto et al., 2000). High IL-6 levels in OSCC tissue and plasma have also been associated with recurrence, lymph node involvement, and a poor prognostic survival (Duffy et al., 2008 and Nagata et al., 2003). IL-6 has been directly related to chronic stress. Individuals who experience emotional stress display high IL-6 circulating levels (Kiecolt-Glaser et al., 2003). Recently, it has been shown that NE can increase IL-6 expression in malignant melanocytes (Yang et al.

With regards to immunossupressors and/or biologics, treatment failure should also include absence of endoscopic improvement. The evidence that suggests that methotrexate is capable of mucosal healing is not as robust as the evidence supporting the effective and

find more complete healing of the mucosa achieved with azathioprine, infliximab and adalimumab. Evidence also suggests that the early combination of immunosuppressive therapy in moderately active Crohn’s disease is superior to standard therapy in establishing mucosal healing, mainly in patients who are naïve to both drugs. The use of non-invasive markers such as C-reactive protein and in particular faecal calprotectin may become a complementary means to endoscopy for the assessment of mucosal AZD6738 healing. Concerning the risk of cancer, there is evidence supporting an increased risk of developing lymphoproliferative disorders and non-elanoma skin cancer in IBD patients treated with azathioprine. Steroids and immunosuppressives are associated with an increased risk of infection. The combination treatment,

immunomodulators and corticosteroids or biologics, increases this risk. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. The authors would like to thank to all the experts who participated and the remaining authors of the IBD ahead 2010 group (Dr. Paulo Caldeira, Hospital de Faro, EPE; Dr. Isabel Bastos, Unidade Hospitalar de Guimarães Vitamin B12 do Centro Hospitalar do Alto Ave, EPE; Dr. Luís Lobo, Hospital Pedro Hispano da Unidade Local de Saúde de Matosinhos, EPE; Dr. Paulo Fidalgo, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, EPE; Dr. Leopoldo Matos, Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Ocidental, EPE; Dr. António Marques, Hospital de Santa Maria do Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Norte, EPE; Dr. Susana Lopes, Hospital de São João, EPE; Dr. Marta Salgado, Hospital Geral de Santo António do Centro Hospitalar do Porto, EPE; Dr. Fernanda Maçoas, Hospital Sousa Martins – Guarda

da Unidade Local de Saúde da Guarda, EPE; Dr. José Cotter, Unidade Hospitalar de Guimarães do Centro Hospitalar do Alto Ave, EPE; Dr. Susana Almeida, Hospital Pediátrico de Coimbra do Centro Hospitalar de Coimbra, EPE; Dr. Luís Lopes, Hospital de Santa Luzia de Viana do Castelo da Unidade Local de Saúde do Alto Minho, EPE; Dr. João Carvalho, Centro Hospitalar de Vila Nova de Gaia, EPE; Dr. Eugénia Cancela, Hospital de São Teotónio, EPE Viseu; Dr. Eunice Trindade, Hospital de São João, EPE; Dr. Luísa Barros, Hospital Padre Américo, Vale do Sousa do Centro Hospitalar Tâmega e Sousa, EPE; Dr. Raquel Gonçalves, Hospital de São Marcos, Braga; Dr. Rute Cerqueira, Hospital S. Sebastião do Centro Hospitalar de Entre Douro e Vouga, EPE; Dr. Paula Moura Santos, Hospital de Santa Maria do Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Norte, EPE).

The purity and molecular mass of VdTX-1 were determined by mass spectrometry. The sample (0.5 μl) were spotted onto the sample slide and dried

on the bench and crystallized with 0.5 μl of matrix solution [5 mg/ml (w/v) CHCA (α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid), in 50% acetonitrile and 0.1% TFA] (Sigma). The samples were analyzed on an Ettan MALDI-ToF/Pro spectrometer (Amershan Biosciences) operating in reflectron mode. Each experimental protocol was repeated three to eight times and the results are reported as the mean ± S.E.M. Statistical comparisons were done using ANOVA for repeated measures followed by the Tukey test. A value of P < 0.05 indicated significance. The incubation of chick biventer cervicis preparations with V. dubius venom (10, 25 and Selleckchem NU7441 50 μg/mL) resulted in a rapid initial decrease in the twitch-tension responses to indirect stimulation during the first 15 min of incubation (decreases of 57 ± 4% and 78 ± 4% with 25 and 50 μg of venom/mL, respectively); from 10 to 15 min onwards there was also progressive muscle contracture seen as an increase in the baseline resting tension (increases of 4 ± 2%, 24 ± 5% and 44 ± 9% above baseline for 10, 25 and 50 μg/mL, respectively, after 60 min). It is notable that this baseline shift does not mask the twitch blockade since the contractions height still diminish during and after contracture establishment. Fig. 1 shows representative recordings and the mean data for

the neuromuscular blockade and the muscle contracture. Washing the preparations partially NVP-BKM120 cell line Progesterone restored the contractile (twitch-tension) responses but did not revert the persistent contracture. The ∼10 min delay between the onset of blockade and the onset of contracture, as well as the dissociation between the reversibility of twitch-tension blockade and the persistence of muscle contracture

after washing, indicated that at least two mechanisms were involved in the neuromuscular action of V. dubius venom, i.e., one affecting neurotransmission and one affecting muscle contractility. In biventer cervicis preparations the LM (<5 kDa) and HM (>5 kDa) fractions obtained by filtration though Amicon® filters showed different profiles of neuromuscular activity (Fig. 2A). The LM fraction (20 μg/mL), which corresponded to ∼61% of the dry venom weight, reduced the contractile force to 62 ± 6% of the control twitch-tension after 30 min followed by spontaneous partial reversal after 2 h (to 76 ± 5% of the control), without causing any contracture. In contrast, the HM fraction (20 μg/mL), which corresponds to ∼37% of the dry venom weight, caused a progressive decrease in contractile activity to 68 ± 5% and 45 ± 10% of the control twitch-tension after 30 and 120 min respectively, and a sustained elevation in baseline (19 ± 3% increase after 2 h). Incubation with venom significantly attenuated the responses of biventer cervicis preparations to exogenous ACh (110 μM) and KCl (20 mM) to 75 ± 5% and 74 ± 6% of the control (n = 6), respectively.

The target compound for the comparison of the two methods was the dimethyl sulfide (DMS) sampled out of nine independent mesocosm enclosures. Both techniques used sub-samples taken from the same original aspirators. However, each method was performed by a different person, using a different

sample preparation process, type of calibration, calibration standard and analytical instrumentation. The NTD GC–MS sampling and analysis processes are described in detail in the Experimental section while detailed information about the P&T GC–FPD method can be found in earlier studies (Kiene, 1993, Zindler et al., 2012a and Zindler et al., 2012b). In short, there are three main differences between the NTD GC–MS (method Akt inhibitor A) and P&T GC–FPD (method

B) techniques: 1) method B used liquid nitrogen (LN2) for pre-concentration while check details in method A sample tracers were trapped directly using three-bed NTDs, 2) method B used a potassium carbonate (K2CO3) column to trap the moisture while for method A the condensed water was used as an extracting medium in the desorption process and 3) immersion in hot water was used in method B for the injection of DMS into the GC where in method A desorption of the NTDs occurred directly into the injection port of the GC. The two techniques were calibrated independently. The NTD GC–MS method used a multi-component gas standard (5 % stated accuracy) while the P&T GC–FPD method used a liquid DMS standard for calibration (Kiene, 1993 and Zindler et al., 2012b). The liquid standard from the GEOMAR team was analyzed also using the NTD method. The difference between the two standards was found to be 7 % which was not considered significant as it is within the range of the NTD method

precision (RSD % 7–12.4) at the examined concentration levels (see Table 2). The NTD GC–MS method gave LODs as low as 0.04 nM and the P&T GC–FPD method 0.3 nM. Linearities (r2) for both techniques were > 0.99 for a concentration range of 0.5 to 10 nM. In Fig. 7, we present a visual comparison of the DMS measurements in each pCO2 group for the two analytical methods and a whole data method correlation. In Fig 7A, B, C, measurements provided by the NTD method are marked learn more with filled cycles while the ones provided by the P&T method with star symbols. On the whole, both methods are in good agreement, with similar DMS concentration ranges (0.3 to 6 nM by the NTD method and 0.34 to 6.18 nM by the P&T method), temporal variations and CO2 effect. Best agreement between the two methods was found for the higher DMS production group (low pCO2 treatment) with correlation coefficient r2 = 0.81. A linear regression ( Fig. 7D) for the whole data set gave a total r2 = 0.805 correlation between the two methods. The derived slope shows a 13 % overestimation of the NTD over the P&T method. This is mainly caused by discrepancies in the first period of the experimental study when the NTD method measured consistently slightly higher (i.e. days 0 to 10).

parahaemolyticus O3:K6 strain PMA1.6. This research is supported APO866 supplier by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF grant Nos. 0312039 and 0315942 and VibrioNet, BMBF grant 01KI1015A). “
“Bothrops bilineata ( (Wied-Neuwied, 1825) is an arboreal species which has a known distribution in the Amazon Forest, in some areas of the Atlantic Forests ( Campbell and Lamar, 2004) and in the northeastern part of the state of Minas Gerais ( Feio and Caramaschi, 2002 and Bernarde et al., 2011). Recently, Carrasco et al. (2012) through morphology, phylogeny and

taxonomy studies has suggested an arrangement of the Bothrops genus and also has recognized as sister clade synonymizing Bothriopsis, Bothropoides and Rhinocerophis. It is important to note that there are few studies on the epidemiological and clinical aspects of envenomation by B. bilineata ( Borges et al., 1999, Smalligan et al., 2004 and Waldez and Vogt, 2009). And experimentally B. bilineata venom induces neuromuscular activity in nerve-muscle preparations isolated from vertebrates ( Rodrigues-Simioni et al., 2011). In addition, B. bilineata venom induces a significant leukocyte accumulation at

the site of tissue damage characterized by neutrophil migration find protocol ( Porto et al., 2007). However, the activation state of these cells is still unclear. Neutrophils, also named polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMN), represent the majority of the leukocytes

in peripheral blood. They have very short lifespans, spending only 8–12 h in circulation (Summers et al., 2010). However, various stimuli, such as cytokines and bacterial products were shown to prolong their survival (Colotta et al., 1992). They are considered the first line of defense in the organism due to their quick migration into infected tissue thus providing an acute inflammatory response (Nathan, 2006). At the inflammation site, neutrophils perform host defense functions such as phagocytosis, release of proteolytic Branched chain aminotransferase enzymes, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and synthesis of a number of inflammatory mediators including cytokines and lipid mediators (Cassatella, 1995, Cassatella, 1999, Nathan, 2006 and Timár et al., 2013). In addition to these well-known neutrophil functions, the literature documents the discovery of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) also capable of eliminating microorganisms in the extracellular space (Brinkmann et al., 2004). These extracellular vesicles represent a form of intercellular communication carried out by lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids (Timár et al., 2013). So, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of B. bilineata venom (BbV) on the functionality of human neutrophils such as cytokine production (IL-6 and IL-8) as well as that of PGE2, hydrogen peroxide and release of NETs.

Treatment of HepG2 cells with 1 μM 5-FU and LDR resulted in 48% γH2AX-positive cells immediately after radiation was complete compared to 13% with 5-FU alone or RT alone, suggesting that 5-FU and LDR interact to induce DNA damage and/or impair DNA damage repair. To further understand the mechanism behind LDR radiosensitization

with gemcitabine and 5-FU, we next studied the effects of these treatments on cell cycle distribution. Treatment with 30 nM gemcitabine with LDR (0.26 Gy/h to 4.2 Gy) had significant cell cycle effects in the Hep3B cell line. Immediately after 16 hours of LDR, Hep3B cells treated with gemcitabine were more likely to be in G2/M phase (24%) than cells treated with RT alone (7%, P = .009) or gemcitabine alone (14%, P = .015) ( LEE011 cost Figure 3). This difference persisted at 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after radiation ( Figure 3C). Additionally, treatment with gemcitabine alone led to an increase in the number of Hep3B cells in S phase 24 hours later (corresponding to the start of LDR). In the HepG2 cell line, treatment with gemcitabine plus LDR resulted in a similar number of cells in G2/M as treatment with LDR alone, whereas treatment with gemcitabine alone was associated with a higher percentage www.selleckchem.com/products/AG-014699.html of cells in S phase. Similar to gemcitabine, we tested the effects of 5-FU and sorafenib on cell cycle in combination with LDR. Treatment with

3 μM 5-FU resulted in an increased number of cells in S phase compared to controls in both HepG2 (37% vs 57%, P < .001) and Hep3B (36% vs 54%, P = .06) cell lines ( Figure 3). Additionally, adding 5-FU to radiation resulted in a higher percentage of cells in S phase in HepG2 (31% vs 54%, P = .01) and Hep3B (24% vs 59%, P = .01) cell lines compared to cells treated with LDR alone ( Figure 3B). These Enzalutamide data suggest that 5-FU induces S phase arrest in cells undergoing

LDR. Of note, treatment with sorafenib after LDR did not significantly alter cell cycle distribution. Based on our preclinical results showing gemcitabine is an effective LDR radiosensitizer, we performed a review of our clinical experience with gemcitabine in combination with radioembolization. Thirteen patients with primary liver cancer or liver metastases were treated with 90Y microspheres and concurrent gemcitabine administered 24 hours before TARE. Three patients were treated to separate lobes of the liver at different times. Table 2 shows the characteristics of each patient with the doses of radiation and gemcitabine they received. Five patients were treated for liver-confined unresectable HCC, seven patients for metastatic melanoma, four patients for metastatic cholangioncarcinoma, and one patient for metastatic carcinoid. Three of the five patients with HCC had cirrhosis (all Child-Pugh score A), and three of the patients were HCV positive. A noncytotoxic gemcitabine dose of 200 mg/m2 (standard therapeutic dose is 1000 mg/m2) was used for 14 of the 16 treatments.

For prevention advice to make sense and be motivating to CRC screening patients, the links between adenoma, CRC and lifestyle factors need to be made

consistently in the screening and treatment process. The reassurance offered by professionals during these processes combined with subsequent ‘all clear’ messages can be interpreted by patients as a validation of existing lifestyles, and may reduce the credibility and salience of subsequent lifestyle advice. It would be desirable for professionals to alert people to further action that can be made to reduce risk, highlighting current evidence, suggesting simple ways to assess health behaviour, and signposting sources of advice and support. The study has identified helpful Histone Methyltransferase inhibitor learning points for the recruitment and intervention protocol of the full BeWEL RCT (Fig. 4). It suggests that CRC health professionals should act as advocates http://www.selleckchem.com/products/ABT-888.html for lifestyle change and promotion of the study. The findings raise the possibility that written information about the study will be the first time recipients learn of an explicit connection between lifestyle and CRC, and this could be usefully reinforced, especially with people who do not respond to the study invitation. For people who express interest in the study and are recruited, researchers could repeat the endorsement of the study by the lead clinician. Importantly,

Etomidate health professionals and researchers need to encourage participants to look ahead to opportunities for health gain, avoiding any sense

of victim blaming for cancer risk (Chapple et al., 2004), whilst motivating and supporting lifestyle change for the years ahead. All authors have completed the Conflict of interest policy form and declare: no support from any organisation for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work and, no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. This study is funded by the National Prevention Research Initiative (http://www.npri.org.uk). The funding partners relevant to this award are (in alphabetical order): Alzheimer’s Research Trust, Alzheimer’s Society, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientist Office, Scottish Government Health Directorate, Department of Health, Diabetes UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Health & Social Care Research & Development Office for Northern Ireland, Medical Research Council, Welsh Assembly Government and World Cancer Research Fund. MRC reference: G080230 “
“We read with interest the recent paper by Maurer and colleagues describing the attitudes toward seasonal and H1N1 vaccination and vaccination uptake among US adults (Maurer et al., 2010).

aeruginosa at 80 μl of AgNPs. Next was K. pneumoniae 15 mm at 80 μl of AgNPs concentration. S. typhimurium and E. aerogenes showed maximum zone of inhibition of 14 mm each at again 80 μl concentration. E. coli showed the least zone of inhibition of 13 mm at the above said concentration of AgNPs. At minimum concentration of 20 μl amongst pathogenic bacteria, Ps. aeruginosa showed maximum inhibition zone of 17 mm. Verma et al 12 reported the antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles produced by endophytic fungi,

Aspergillus clavatus which revealed the zone of inhibition of 14 mm in case of Pseudomonas sp and 10 mm in case of E. coli. Similarly, reports of Swetha Sunkar and Valli Nachiyar 20 regarding antibacterial activity of AgNPs, produced by endophytic bacterium, Bacillus cereus isolated from Garcinia xanthochymus showed zone of inhibition of 18 mm with E. coli,

15 mm with Ps. aeruginosa, Regorafenib 14 mm with S. typhi, 15 mm with K. pneumoniae. Our results of nanoparticle production from endophytic fungi, Pencillium sp. tested against pathogenic bacteria, E. coli, Ps. aeruginosa, K. pneumoniae, S. typhimurium, and E. aerogenes showed maximum zone of inhibition with minimum concentration of silver nanoparticles. All authors have none to declare. “
“Industrialization is the big source of pollution. Some of the industries are highly water consuming and after using the water they expel it as a hazardous waste. Such buy PLX-4720 wastes are lethal, non-degradable or may be biologically magnified, capable of promoting detrimental cumulative effects as well as short-term hazards. The main objective of present study was to investigate the effect

of industrial effect on the leaf morphology, anatomy and cytology of Ricinus communis Linn. Effects of pollutants on plants have been recognized for a long time by Ahmad et al, 1988 1 and Threshow, 1984. 2Ghaziabad is situated at nearby national capital of India known as large industrial area. In the vicinity of these industries, many medicinal plants from are growing with the changes in their morphological & anatomical characters as well as phyto-chemical constituents and cytological disturbance. The samples of R. communis Linn. were collected from the area of Cycle Industry, Ghaziabad, UP, India to investigate the effect of industrial pollution. The effluent of Industry was analyzed by APHA, 1981. 3 Twig samples of 3rd internode were used and Metacalf (1980) were consulted for anatomical studies. For anatomical studies twig samples of 3rd internode were used and Metacalf, 1980 4 were consulted. For cytological studies, seeds were treated with three concentrations of effluent i.e. 25%, 50% and 100%. The root tips were washed thoroughly with distilled water and kept in freshly prepared Carnoy’s fluid for 48 h and transferred into 70% alcohol and stored in refrigerator. For the cytological studies, the root tips were hydrolysed in 2% acetocarmine solution and retained in same solution for some time.

(2010) were used, with the endocardial variant of O’Hara et al. (2011) (as this model was primarily parameterised with endocardial data). PyCML was used to convert the CellML format into C++ code (Cooper, Corrias, Gavaghan, & Noble, 2011). The CellML files were tagged with metadata denoting the conductances of interest (Cooper, Mirams, & Niederer, 2011), which results in selleckchem auto-generated methods for changing the channel conductances in the resulting C++ code. The equations were solved using the adaptive time-stepping CVODE solver (Hindmarsh et al., 2005), with relative and absolute tolerances of 10–6 and 10–8 respectively, and a maximum

time step of less than the stimulus duration. Adaptive time-stepping solvers offer significant speed and accuracy improvements over ‘traditional’ fixed time step solvers for numerically stiff systems such as cardiac action potential models. The software is a custom-made program based on the open-source Chaste library (Mirams et al., 2013) and its ApPredict (action potential prediction) module. For the interested reader we have made the following resources

AZD5363 solubility dmso available: the IC50 datasets, the action potential simulation software; and the scripts for generating the figures presented in this article. These can be downloaded as a ‘bolt-on project’ for Chaste (written to work with version 3.2) from http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/chaste/download. Further instructions on downloading and using the code can be found in Supplementary Material S1.3. Calculated free plasma concentrations during the TQT study are given Methane monooxygenase in a separate spreadsheet (Supplementary Material S2), based on data gathered for the Gintant (2011) study. The spreadsheet implements the necessary calculations for calculating molar free plasma estimates from maximum plasma concentration (‘Cmax’), percent plasma binding, and molecular weight. The equations used for calculations are given in Supplementary Material S1.4. The change in QT that was used for comparison

with simulation predictions is the mean change in QTc, at the highest dose tested in the TQT study, as reported in Gintant (2011). In this section we present the results of the ion channel screening, followed by the simulations based upon those screens, and then analyse their predictions of TQT results. Table 1 shows the pIC50 values (–log10 of IC50 values in Molar) fitted to the concentration effect points from each ion channel screen. We also display the manual hERG patch clamp values taken from Gintant (2011), which were collated from regulatory submission document GLP studies (ICH, 2005). Note that an IC50 > 106 μM (or equivalently pIC50 < 0) would indicate a very weak (or no) compound effect on an ion current. When this was the case, we have ‘rounded’ and we show this in Table 1 as pIC50 = 0 for clarity. N.B. using pIC50 = 0 corresponds to just 0.

They continue to use both languages in daily life in a mixture of contexts. Therefore, all of the 8 participants in this group were considered to be proficient early bilinguals. A total of 20 concrete nouns were used in the present study. All of the words were chosen from a set of stimuli previously used for predicting fMRI activation patterns (Akama, Murphy, Li, Shimizu, & Poesio 2012) but without using pictures. They were classified into two categories and two languages: 10 tool words in Korean and their corresponding ones in Chinese,

10 mammal words in Korean and their corresponding ones in Chinese. Using the E-Prime 2.0-Standard software package, which synchronised during the experiments with the trigger Selleckchem Sunitinib pulses transmitted by the fMRI control PC, the 40 words were randomly Regorafenib mouse shown on the screen. A slow event-related design was used in the present study. The participants participated in two separate scanning

sessions carried out over two different days whose order was counter-balanced across participants over the two days. Each session lasted 50 min. Each session had 6 repeated runs for a total of 240 trials. In each trial, each word was presented for 3000 ms, followed by a fixation cross for 7000 ms. There were six additional presentations of a fixation cross, 40 s each, distributed immediately after each run to establish a BOLD baseline. During the 3000 ms stimulus period, the participants were asked to perform a silent property generation task (Mitchell et al., 2008) with these word stimuli by thinking of the appropriate features of the corresponding concept and caption in a required language. This step was followed by a fixation cross presentation time of

filipin 7000 ms, during which the participants were asked to silently fix their eyes on the cross and no response was required. In one session, the participants were asked to perform the task covertly using the same language as the orthographic stimuli on the screen. We refer to this session as the ‘situational non-translation language-switching condition’, abbreviated here as SnT. In the other session, the participants were asked to perform the task using the other language, which is not visually presented in each trial. We refer to the second session as ‘focused simultaneous translation language-switching condition’, abbreviated here as FST (Fig. 2). To ensure that each participant had a consistent set of properties to think about during the on-line tasks, the participants were asked to acquaint themselves with these stimuli and to perform a property rehearsal task before the scanning session (Mitchell et al., 2008). Functional MRI scans were performed with a 3.0-T General Electric Signa scanner at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, with an 8-channel high-resolution head coil. The scanning parameters were based on those of Mitchell et al. (2008).