Effects of gestational age at birth on cognitive performance : a function of cognitive workload demands

Objective: Cognitive deficits have been inconsistently described for late or moderately preterm children but are consistently found in very preterm children. This study investigates the association between cognitive workload demands of tasks and cognitive performance in relation to gestational age at birth. Methods: Data were collected as part of a prospective geographically defined whole-population study of neonatal at-risk children in Southern Bavaria. At 8;5 years, n = 1326 children (gestation range: 23–41 weeks) were assessed with the K-ABC and a Mathematics Test. Results: Cognitive scores of preterm children decreased as cognitive workload demands of tasks increased. The relationship between gestation and task workload was curvilinear and more pronounced the higher the cognitive workload: GA2 (quadratic term) on low cognitive workload: R2 = .02, p<0.001; moderate cognitive workload: R2 = .09, p<0.001; and high cognitive workload tasks: R2 = .14, p<0.001. Specifically, disproportionally lower scores were found for very (<32 weeks gestation) and moderately (32–33 weeks gestation) preterm children the higher the cognitive workload of the tasks. Early biological factors such as gestation and neonatal complications explained more of the variance in high (12.5%) compared with moderate (8.1%) and low cognitive workload tasks (1.7%). Conclusions: The cognitive workload model may help to explain variations of findings on the relationship of gestational age with cognitive performance in the literature. The findings have implications for routine cognitive follow-up, educational intervention, and basic research into neuro-plasticity and brain reorganization after preterm birth

Isolating the effect of soil properties on agricultural soil greenhouse gas emissions under controlled conditions

Agricultural soils are important sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Soil properties and environmental factors have complex interactions which influence the dynamics of these GHG fluxes. Four arable and five grassland soils which represent the range of soil textures and climatic conditions of the main agricultural areas in the UK were incubated at two different moisture contents (50 or 80 % water holding capacity) and with or without inorganic fertiliser application (70 kg N ha-1 ammonium nitrate) over 22 days. Emissions of N2O, CO2 and CH4 were measured twice per week by headspace gas sampling and cumulative fluxes were calculated. Multiple regression modelling was carried out to determine which factors (soil mineral N, organic carbon and total nitrogen contents, C:N ratios, clay contents and pH) that best explained the variation in GHG fluxes. Clay, mineral N and soil C contents were found to be the most important explanatory variables controlling GHG fluxes in this study. However, none of the measured variables explained a significant amount of variation in CO2 fluxes from the arable soils. The results were generally consistent with previously published work. However, N2O emissions from the two Scottish soils were substantially more sensitive to inorganic N fertilisation at 80% water holding capacity than the other soils, with the N2O emissions being up to 107 times higher than the other studied soils

Astrobiological Complexity with Probabilistic Cellular Automata

Search for extraterrestrial life and intelligence constitutes one of the major endeavors in science, but has yet been quantitatively modeled only rarely and in a cursory and superficial fashion. We argue that probabilistic cellular automata (PCA) represent the best quantitative framework for modeling astrobiological history of the Milky Way and its Galactic Habitable Zone. The relevant astrobiological parameters are to be modeled as the elements of the input probability matrix for the PCA kernel. With the underlying simplicity of the cellular automata constructs, this approach enables a quick analysis of large and ambiguous input parameters' space. We perform a simple clustering analysis of typical astrobiological histories and discuss the relevant boundary conditions of practical importance for planning and guiding actual empirical astrobiological and SETI projects. In addition to showing how the present framework is adaptable to more complex situations and updated observational databases from current and near-future space missions, we demonstrate how numerical results could offer a cautious rationale for continuation of practical SETI searches.Comment: 37 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables; added journal reference belo

Stationary Black Holes: Uniqueness and Beyond

The spectrum of known black-hole solutions to the stationary Einstein equations has been steadily increasing, sometimes in unexpected ways. In particular, it has turned out that not all black-hole-equilibrium configurations are characterized by their mass, angular momentum and global charges. Moreover, the high degree of symmetry displayed by vacuum and electro-vacuum black-hole spacetimes ceases to exist in self-gravitating non-linear field theories. This text aims to review some developments in the subject and to discuss them in light of the uniqueness theorem for the Einstein-Maxwell system.Comment: Major update of the original version by Markus Heusler from 1998. Piotr T. Chru\'sciel and Jo\~ao Lopes Costa succeeded to this review's authorship. Significantly restructured and updated all sections; changes are too numerous to be usefully described here. The number of references increased from 186 to 32

Extragalactic Radio Continuum Surveys and the Transformation of Radio Astronomy

Next-generation radio surveys are about to transform radio astronomy by discovering and studying tens of millions of previously unknown radio sources. These surveys will provide new insights to understand the evolution of galaxies, measuring the evolution of the cosmic star formation rate, and rivalling traditional techniques in the measurement of fundamental cosmological parameters. By observing a new volume of observational parameter space, they are also likely to discover unexpected new phenomena. This review traces the evolution of extragalactic radio continuum surveys from the earliest days of radio astronomy to the present, and identifies the challenges that must be overcome to achieve this transformational change.Comment: To be published in Nature Astronomy 18 Sept 201

Complement is activated in progressive multiple sclerosis cortical grey matter lesions

The symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) are caused by damage to myelin and nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Inflammation is tightly linked with neurodegeneration, and it is the accumulation of neurodegeneration that underlies increasing neurological disability in progressive MS. Determining pathological mechanisms at play in MS grey matter is therefore a key to our understanding of disease progression

Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology with Gravitational Waves

Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with detectors (bars and interferometers), and how these detectors operate. We study the most likely sources of gravitational waves and review the data analysis methods that are used to extract their signals from detector noise. Then we consider the consequences of gravitational wave detections and observations for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.Comment: 137 pages, 16 figures, Published version <http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2009-2

Exploring the influence of context on feedback at medical school:a video-ethnography study

Feedback in medical education is complicated by the multiple contexts within which learning occurs. However, feedback research in medical education has typically focused on information provided by tutors to students with limited exploration of the influence of context. This research seeks to address this gap by exploring the influence of multiple contexts upon feedback processes. Employing video-ethnography methodology we explored feedback in two common contexts for medical student learning: the simulated clinical environment and the medical workplace. Learning and teaching sessions were filmed in each of these contexts, capturing diverse feedback processes. Data were analysed for key themes using a Framework Analysis approach and similarities and differences between the two contexts identified. In total 239 distinct feedback episodes across 28 different teaching and learning sessions were captured, with feedback processes relating to the patient, practice, educational and institutional contexts observed. In this paper, we concentrate on key similarities and differences in feedback processes between the two contexts with respect to six themes: feedback interlocutors, interlocutor positioning, feedback types, feedback foci, feedback styles and feedback milieu. We argue that feedback is inextricably linked to the multiple contexts in which feedback is enacted. It is only by exploring these contextual influences that feedback can be understood more fully. With such understanding we should be better placed to develop interventions capable of improving the long elusive experience of successful feedback.</p

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Digital technologies in the public-health response to COVID-19

Digital technologies are being harnessed to support the public-health response to COVID-19 worldwide, including population surveillance, case identification, contact tracing and evaluation of interventions on the basis of mobility data and communication with the public. These rapid responses leverage billions of mobile phones, large online datasets, connected devices, relatively low-cost computing resources and advances in machine learning and natural language processing. This Review aims to capture the breadth of digital innovations for the public-health response to COVID-19 worldwide and their limitations, and barriers to their implementation, including legal, ethical and privacy barriers, as well as organizational and workforce barriers. The future of public health is likely to become increasingly digital, and we review the need for the alignment of international strategies for the regulation, evaluation and use of digital technologies to strengthen pandemic management, and future preparedness for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases