Coordination of mandibular muscle activity in infants with Down syndrome during feeding

Normally developing infants produce adult-like mandibular muscle activity during chewing by 12 months of age. However, infants and children with Down syndrome may exhibit delays in obtaining the typical mandibular motor patterns for feeding. Some reports have hypothesized that these patterns may even be deviant. Little quantitative data exists regarding the development of mandibular muscle activity in infants and children with Down syndrome. The present EMG study describes the coordinative muscle patterns of infants with Down syndrome during feeding. This investigation allowed a comparison of the feeding patterns of infants with Down syndrome with normally developing infants. The crosscorrelation analysis yielded to points of interest: the peak correlation coefficient and the lag to the peak. A low to moderate degree of coupling was noted for the homologous and synergistic muscle pairs as well as relatively weaker coupling for the antagonistic muscle pairs during feeding. Mean absolute lag values demonstrated longer lags for the antagonistic muscle pairs and shorter lags for the homologous and synergistic muscle pairs. Findings of this study suggest a nonlinear relationship between age and development of feeding skills. A linear relationship between gross motor feeding development, however, may be evident. Thus, feeding difficulties may stem from a developmental delay versus a distinct, deviant developmental pattern. The timing of muscle activity was found to be similar to the masticatory patterns of typically developing infants

A Possible Age-Related Neurological Mechanism in the Formation of Problem-Solving Set

Problem-solving set is the ability to focus on one successful solution and to screen out other (non) successful solutions. One problem-solving set study by Ransopher and Thompson (1991) showed no main effect or marked difference of responses with age. However, these results are not surprising because the research design perhaps facilitated responses. Two outcomes were thought possible for this particular study. The inhibition-deficit view (Hasher and Zachs, 1988) suggests that older people may be less susceptible to the effects of problem-solving set because they would be less likely to be focused on just one solution set. Dempster (1992) suggests that these inhibitory processes are associated with the frontal lobes, which function less effectively as people age. Alternatively, the other possible hypothesis dealt with perseveration: the abnormal repetition of a specific behavior (Stuss and Benson, 1984). Perseverative characteristics seen in frontal lobe damaged patients (Delis, Squire, Bihrle, and Massman, 1992) may indicate that the lessened activity of the frontal lobes with age would cause the older people to be more susceptible to problem-solving set, since they would not be able to get out of the initial problem-solving set solutions to solve new problems. This study attempted to determine which hypothesis is more accurate by inducing set with anagrams or scrambled words. Twenty-five undergraduates and 29 older people (over the age of 55) were tested on a completely randomized list of 150 anagrams, in terms of anagram location and letter order, that were in blocks of 6, 9, 12, and 15. Target anagrams that required a different solution were presented after each block, and the mean latency was measured for both block and target anagrams. Main effects of group on anagram reaction times were found, but . significant interactions were not found using two two-way ANOVAs

Regulatory Task Force for Coastal Clean Energy

This power point presentation gives an overview of the Task Force, tells the need for renewable energy policy, gives a regulatory roadmap for offshore wind projects and lists resource agencies

Evaluating the construction and evolution of upper crustal magma reservoirs with coupled U/Pb zircon geochronology and thermal modeling:A case study from the Mt. Capanne pluton (Elba, Italy)

Evaluating mechanisms and rates for magma transport and emplacement in the upper crust is important in order to predict the thermal and rheological state of the crust, and understand the relationship between plutonism and volcanism. U–Pb geochronology on zircon is commonly used to constrain magma emplacement and storage time in the crust, but interpreting complex zircon age populations in terms of in-situ crystallization versus crystallization at a deeper level is not trivial. This study focuses on the Mt. Capanne pluton in Elba (Italy), a well-documented example of arc-related laccolith emplaced in the upper continental crust. Previous studies proposed that the Mt. Capanne intrusion was accreted in less than 10 000 yr by distinct and mappable magma pulses. Here, we couple high-precision ID-TIMS U–Pb zircon geochronology with numerical thermal simulations to evaluate emplacement rates, test different emplacement models, inform zircon age interpretations and evaluate the potential for melt storage during construction of the Mt. Capanne pluton. Our results require that the Mt. Capanne intrusion was built in at least 250 000 yr by multiple magma injections. A variety of emplacement scenarios show that melt was preserved for <60 000 yr after each pulse and that the maximum eruptible volumes were approximately equal to the volume of each pulse. Our results also require that the majority of zircon crystallization occurred in zircon saturated reservoirs at deeper crustal levels prior to final magma emplacement and cooling, which has implications for using zircon U–Pb geochronology to infer upper crustal magma residence times

Knowledge translation and occupational therapy: A survey of Canadian university programs

While Canadian occupational therapy recognizes knowledge translation (KT) as essential to clinical interactions, there has been little attention paid to KT activity in education and research. The objective of this study was to identify the nature of KT activities in which Canadian occupational therapy faculty engage. An electronic survey was sent to faculty at 14 Canadian occupational therapy programs to explore the nature of KT activities, including research, education, strategies, evaluation, and barriers and facilitators. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results show that faculty engage in a range of KT activities, with conferences and peer-reviewed publications being the most common. Faculty collaborate frequently with researchers at their institutions and favor both integrated and end-of-grant KT. Collaboration and personal interest were identified as facilitators; time and funding were seen as barriers. Understanding the profile of KT activity across universities creates opportunities for developing institutional and pan-Canadian plans to enhance KT training and capacity

Creating a Green Library Website and Directory: A Discussion of the Process and Results

This paper describes the process used to create a website containing information relevant to the green library movement, most notably a directory of green libraries. It includes discussion of the information-seeking methods used to locate data for the website, the formats used to present that information, and the website's future. The website can be accessed via the following address: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&source=embed&msa=0&msid=1041 88640014842639355.000466b3998d3a5724bac&ll=15.411319,45.922852&spn=27.5812 2,34.848633&z=

Stellar occultation studies of Triton's atmosphere

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, 1996.Includes bibliographical references (p. 127-136).by Catherine Blair Olkin.Ph.D

The risk of Cerebral Palsy in survivors of multiple pregnancies with co-fetal loss or death

Objective. This study investigated the risks for cerebral palsy in survivors of multiple pregnancies with cofetal loss (< 20 weeks gestation) or cofetal death. Study Design. The total Western Australian population-based case-control study included 741 cases of cerebral palsy. Results. Antenatal cofetal loss or death occurred in 3% of all cases of cerebral palsy, which is a small but significant contribution. The odds ratio for cerebral palsy in survivors of cofetal loss that included iatrogenic pregnancy reduction was 2.65 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.78-8.98), which gave a population-attributable proportion of 7.28% (95% CI, 0-27.5), compared with 4.25 (95% CI, 1.12-16.10) and 10.6% (95% CI, 1.0-35.6) for survivors of cofetal death. Conclusion. This study quantifies the contribution of cofetal death to cerebral palsy and suggests that cofetal loss makes a similar, although somewhat smaller, contribution to the risk for cerebral palsy in survivors of multiple pregnancies

The Role of Olfactory Cues in the Sequential Radiation of a Gall-boring Beetle, Mordellistena convicta

1. Herbivorous insects often have close associations with specific host plants, and their preferences for mating and ovipositing on a specific host-plant species can reproductively isolate populations, facilitating ecological speciation. Volatile emissions from host plants can play a major role in assisting herbivores to locate their natal host plants and thus facilitate assortative mating and host-specific oviposition. 2. The present study investigated the role of host-plant volatiles in host fidelity and oviposition preference of the gall-boring, inquiline beetle, Mordellistena convicta LeConte (Coleoptera: Mordellidae), using Y-tube olfactometers. Previous studies suggest that the gall-boring beetle is undergoing sequential host-associated divergence by utilising the resources that are created by the diverging populations of the gall fly, Eurosta solidaginis Fitch (Diptera: Tephritidae), which induces galls on the stems of goldenrods including Solidago altissima L. (Asteraceae) and Solidago gigantea Ait. 3. Our results show that M. convicta adults are attracted to galls on their natal host plant, avoid the alternate host galls, and do not respond to volatile emissions from their host-plant stems. 4. These findings suggest that the gall-boring beetles can orient to the volatile chemicals from host galls, and that beetles can use them to identify suitable sites for mating and/or oviposition. Host-associated mating and oviposition likely play a role in the sequential radiation of the gall-boring beetle

One Change, Different Effects: The Impacts of Reducing Clerkship Length

Background: Medical school curricula are constantly evolving and change has potential positive and negative effects. At East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine, a broader understanding of the effects of a curriculum change (reduction in clerkship length for one transitional year) was explored. Methods: A broad, system-wide evaluation was used to evaluate impacts on all stakeholders. Curriculum management data, including qualitative and quantitative data and short-term and follow-up perspectives of stakeholders, were used for evaluation. Results: Students evaluated the change positively. Academic performance in the transitional year was similar to the prior year. Differences in students’ clerkship evaluations were not statistically significant. Clerkship directors were concerned that students’ clinical experience suffered and noted that implementing changes was time consuming but recognized the benefits for students. Administrators dedicated a significant amount of time to planning the transitional year; however, the additional weeks at the beginning of fourth year made the scheduling process easier. Conclusion: This article demonstrates an overall positive result with this tool for curriculum change but also indicates the impacts differed across stakeholders. Knowledge gained from this experience can help other schools successfully anticipate challenges and prepare for a variety of outcomes in implementing necessary curriculum change