Does Spanish knowledge contribute to accurate English word spelling in adult bilinguals?

Correctly spelling an English word requires a high-quality orthographic representation. When faced with spelling a complex word without a high-quality representation, spellers often rely on other knowledge sources (e.g., incomplete stored orthographic forms, phonological to orthographic relationships) to spell it. For bilinguals, another potentially facilitative source is knowledge of a word's lexical and sublexical representations in another language. In the current study we considered simultaneous effects of word-level (e.g., frequency, cognate status) and person-level (e.g., English spelling skill, prompting, bilingual status) predictors on college students’ complex English word spelling. Monolinguals (English; n = 42) significantly outperformed bilinguals (Spanish and English; n = 76) on non-cognate spelling; no group differences emerged for cognate spelling accuracy. Within bilinguals, significantly higher spelling performance on cognates compared to non-cognates suggests cognate facilitation, with no prompting effects. Findings expand an interdisciplinary framework of understanding bilinguals’ activation and use of cross-linguistic representations in spelling

Delivery of steric block morpholino oligomers by (R-X-R)4 peptides: structure–activity studies

Redirecting the splicing machinery through the hybridization of high affinity, RNase H- incompetent oligonucleotide analogs such as phosphoramidate morpholino oligonucleotides (PMO) might lead to important clinical applications. Chemical conjugation of PMO to arginine-rich cell penetrating peptides (CPP) such as (R-Ahx-R)4 (with Ahx standing for 6-aminohexanoic acid) leads to sequence-specific splicing correction in the absence of endosomolytic agents in cell culture at variance with most conventional CPPs. Importantly, (R-Ahx-R)4–PMO conjugates are effective in mouse models of various viral infections and Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Unfortunately, active doses in some applications might be close to cytotoxic ones thus presenting challenge for systemic administration of the conjugates in those clinical settings. Structure–activity relationship studies have thus been undertaken to unravel CPP structural features important for the efficient nuclear delivery of the conjugated PMO and limiting steps in their internalization pathway. Affinity for heparin (taken as a model heparan sulfate), hydrophobicity, cellular uptake, intracellular distribution and splicing correction have been monitored. Spacing between the charges, hydrophobicity of the linker between the Arg-groups and Arg-stereochemistry influence splicing correction efficiency. A significant correlation between splicing correction efficiency, affinity for heparin and ability to destabilize model synthetic vesicles has been observed but no correlation with cellular uptake has been found. Efforts will have to focus on endosomal escape since it appears to remain the limiting factor for the delivery of these splice-redirecting ON analogs

The spin polarization of Mn atoms in paramagnetic CuMn alloys induced by a Co layer

Copyright © 2009 American Institute of PhysicsUsing the surface, interface, and element specificity of x-ray resonant magnetic scattering in combination with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, we have spatially resolved the polarization, and hence the spin accumulation in Mn high susceptibility material in close proximity to a ferromagnetic layer. The magnetic polarization of Mn and Cu 3d electrons in paramagnetic CuMn layers is detected in a Co/Cu x /CuMn structure for varying copper layer thicknesses x . The size of the Mn and Cu L2–3-edge dichroism shows a decrease in the polarization for increasing copper thickness indicating the dominant interfacial nature of the Cu and Mn spin polarization. The Mn polarization appears to be much higher than that of Cu

Growth Performance and Ruminal Metabolic Variables of Goats Fed Rain Tree (Samanea saman) Pods

The effect of rain tree pods (RTP) or acacia pods on the growth performance, rumen metabolites, and digestibility of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) in goats was evaluated through feeding trial and in situ methods. Eighteen 7 month-old Philippine native goats with body weight range of 7.86±1.28 kg were divided into three groups consisting of six replicates and randomly assigned to one of treatment diets containing 0%, 50%, and 100% RTP in the concentrate portion of a ration containing 65% roughage and 35% concentrate. Three rumen-cannulated mature goats were used in the in situ studies to determine the dietary effects on rumen fluid pH, total volatile fatty acids (VFA), ammonia, and rumen DM and CP digestibilities.  Differences (P values 50% RTP generally resulted in lower above-stated performance parameters.  Rumen fluid pH of goats decreased after feeding and was lowest in goats fed with 50% RTP. Concentrations of VFA and ammonia were not significantly different. Slowly degradable DM of the test diets were higher in concentrate mixture without RTP. Degradable fractions of CP had highest value on concentrate mixture without RTP while lowest on 100% RTP. However, no differences were observed on potentially digestible fractions and degradability constants of DM and CP. It could be concluded that RTPs can be an alternative ingredient in concentrate mixtures given up to 50% in the mixture as part of a daily ration for goats

Antibacterial Solution Using Cinnamomum verum (Cinammon) and Cympobogon citratus (Lemongrass) Essential Oils with Hydrogen Peroxide Against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli

Amidst the pandemic, millions of impoverished Filipinos lack sufficient access to sanitation services that protect them from bacterial infections. As such, this study endeavored to formulate a disinfectant spray of hydrogen peroxide and varying concentrations of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) essential oils to produce a maximally effective solution. Due to their natural origin, these essential oils were chosen for their extensive antibacterial properties, affordable price, and low toxicity levels. Six disinfectant spray solutions containing different concentrations of either essential oil were tested against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli bacteria through the agar disk diffusion method. After analyzing the data using mean, standard deviation, and MANOVA, it was found that including cinnamon and lemongrass essential oil had no statistically significant effect on the antibacterial activity of the hydrogen peroxide solution, regardless of the concentration of essential oil used, p \u3e 0.05. However, the lemongrass samples were slightly more effective than the cinnamon solutions. Thus, future researchers are encouraged to investigate other components that can potentially increase the antibacterial activity of a disinfectant spray

Middle ear microbiome differences in indigenous Filipinos with chronic otitis media due to a duplication in the A2ML1 gene

Middle ear microbial profiles of indigenous Filipinos with chronic otitis media. All panels compare carriers with non-carriers of the A2ML1 duplication variant. Panel description: (A) ι-diversity by observed OTUs; (B) ι-diversity by the Shannon diversity index; (C) β-diversity from unweighted UniFrac principal coordinate analysis; (D) β-diversity from weighted UniFrac principal coordinate analysis. (PDF 1019 kb

A2ML1 and otitis media : novel variants, differential expression, and relevant pathways

A genetic basis for otitis media is established, however, the role of rare variants in disease etiology is largely unknown. Previously a duplication variant within A2ML1 was identified as a significant risk factor for otitis media in an indigenous Filipino population and in US children. In this report exome and Sanger sequencing was performed using DNA samples from the indigenous Filipino population, Filipino cochlear implantees, US probands, Finnish, and Pakistani families with otitis media. Sixteen novel, damaging A2ML1 variants identified in otitis media patients were rare or low-frequency in population-matched controls. In the indigenous population, both gingivitis and A2ML1 variants including the known duplication variant and the novel splice variant c.4061 + 1 G>C were independently associated with otitis media. Sequencing of salivary RNA samples from indigenous Filipinos demonstrated lower A2ML1 expression according to the carriage of A2ML1 variants. Sequencing of additional salivary RNA samples from US patients with otitis media revealed differentially expressed genes that are highly correlated with A2ML1 expression levels. In particular, RND3 is upregulated in both A2ML1 variant carriers and high-A2ML1 expressors. These findings support a role for A2ML1 in keratinocyte differentiation within the middle ear as part of otitis media pathology and the potential application of ROCK inhibition in otitis media.Peer reviewe

Self-authorship and creative industries workers’ career decision-making

Career decision-making is arguably at its most complex within professions where work is precarious and career calling is strong. This article reports from a study that examined the career decision-making of creative industries workers, for whom career decisions can impact psychological well-being and identity just as much as they impact individuals’ work and career. The respondents were 693 creative industries workers who used a largely open-ended survey to create in-depth reflections on formative moments and career decision-making. Analysis involved the theoretical model of self-authorship, which provides a way of understanding how people employ their sense of self to make meaning of their experiences. The self-authorship process emerged as a complex, non-linear and consistent feature of career decision-making. Theoretical contributions include a non-linear view of self-authorship that exposes the authorship of visible and covert multiple selves prompted by both proactive and reactive identity work

Inhibition of Multidrug Resistance by SV40 Pseudovirion Delivery of an Antigene Peptide Nucleic Acid (PNA) in Cultured Cells

Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) is known to bind with extraordinarily high affinity and sequence-specificity to complementary nucleic acid sequences and can be used to suppress gene expression. However, effective delivery into cells is a major obstacle to the development of PNA for gene therapy applications. Here, we present a novel method for the in vitro delivery of antigene PNA to cells. By using a nucleocapsid protein derived from Simian virus 40, we have been able to package PNA into pseudovirions, facilitating the delivery of the packaged PNA into cells. We demonstrate that this system can be used effectively to suppress gene expression associated with multidrug resistance in cancer cells, as shown by RT-PCR, flow cytometry, Western blotting, and cell viability under chemotherapy. The combination of PNA with the SV40-based delivery system is a method for suppressing a gene of interest that could be broadly applied to numerous targets