Inadequate intake of nutrients essential for neurodevelopment in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)

This study evaluated dietary intake in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Pre-clinical research suggests that nutrient supplementation may attenuate cognitive and behavioral deficits in FASD. Currently, the dietary adequacy of essential nutrients in children with FASD is unknown. Dietary data were collected as part of a randomized, doubleblind controlled trial of choline supplementation in FASD. Participants included 31 children with FASD, ages 2.5 – 4.9 years at enrollment. Dietary intake data was collected three times during the nine month study via interview-administered 24-hour recalls with the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Recall. Dietary intake of macronutrients and 17 vitamins/minerals from food were averaged across three data collection points. Observed nutrient intakes were compared to national dietary intake data of children ages 2 – 5 years (What we Eat in America, NHANES 2007–2008) and to the Dietary Reference Intakes. Compared to the dietary intakes of children in the NHANES sample, children with FASD had lower intakes of saturated fat, vitamin D, and calcium. The majority (>50%) of children with FASD did not meet the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) or Adequate Intake (AI) for fiber, n-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, choline, and calcium. This pattern of dietary intake in children with FASD suggests that there may be opportunities to benefit from nutritional intervention. Supplementation with several nutrients including choline, vitamin D, and n-3 fatty acids, has been shown in animal models to attenuate the cognitive deficits of FASD. These results highlight the potential of nutritional clinical trials in FASD

A study exploring learners' informal learning space behaviors, attitudes, and preferences

What makes a successful informal learning space is a topic in need of further research. The body of discourse on informal space design is drawn from learning theory, placemaking and architecture, with a need for understanding of the synergy between the three. Findings from a longitudinal, quantitative and qualitative study at Sheffield Hallam University, explore learners' behaviours, attitudes and preferences towards informal learning spaces in higher education, within and outside of the context of the academic library. The learning spaces study contributes to the discourse on informal learning spaces design by producing a typology of nine learning space preference attributes which address aspects of learning theory, placemaking and architecture. The typology can be used to evaluate existing spaces and inform redevelopment of informal learning spaces in higher education institutions. Implementing the typology will be subject to localised conditions, but at Sheffield Hallam University the key conclusions have included developing a portfolio of discrete, interrelated learning environments, offering spaces with a clear identity and encouraging students to translate their learning preferences into space selection

Choline supplementation in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are conditions characterized by physical anomalies, neurodevelopmental abnormalities, and neurocognitive deficits, including intellectual, executive, and memory deficits. There are no specific biological treatments for FASDs, but rodent models have shown that prenatal or postnatal choline supplementation reduces cognitive and behavioral deficits. Potential mechanisms include phospholipid production for axonal growth and myelination, acetylcholine enhancement, and epigenetic effects

Metal Hydrides Form Halogen Bonds: Measurement of Energetics of Binding

The formation of halogen bonds from iodopentafluorobenzene and 1-iodoperfluorohexane to a series of bis(η5-cyclopentadienyl)metal hydrides (Cp2TaH3, 1; Cp2MH2, M = Mo, 2, M = W, 3; Cp2ReH, 4; Cp2Ta(H)CO, 5; Cp = η5-cyclopentadienyl) is demonstrated by 1H NMR spectroscopy. Interaction enthalpies and entropies for complex 1 with C6F5I and C6F13I are reported (ΔH° = −10.9 ± 0.4 and −11.8 ± 0.3 kJ/mol; ΔS° = −38 ± 2 and −34 ± 2 J/(mol·K), respectively) and found to be stronger than those for 1 with the hydrogen-bond donor indole (ΔH° = −7.3 ± 0.1 kJ/mol, ΔS° = −24 ± 1 J/(mol·K)). For the more reactive complexes 2–5, measurements are limited to determination of their low-temperature (212 K) association constants with C6F5I as 2.9 ± 0.2, 2.5 ± 0.1, <1.5, and 12.5 ± 0.3 M–1, respectively

Mutations in the histone methyltransferase gene KMT2B cause complex early-onset dystonia.

Histone lysine methylation, mediated by mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) proteins, is now known to be critical in the regulation of gene expression, genomic stability, cell cycle and nuclear architecture. Despite MLL proteins being postulated as essential for normal development, little is known about the specific functions of the different MLL lysine methyltransferases. Here we report heterozygous variants in the gene KMT2B (also known as MLL4) in 27 unrelated individuals with a complex progressive childhood-onset dystonia, often associated with a typical facial appearance and characteristic brain magnetic resonance imaging findings. Over time, the majority of affected individuals developed prominent cervical, cranial and laryngeal dystonia. Marked clinical benefit, including the restoration of independent ambulation in some cases, was observed following deep brain stimulation (DBS). These findings highlight a clinically recognizable and potentially treatable form of genetic dystonia, demonstrating the crucial role of KMT2B in the physiological control of voluntary movement.Funding for the project was provided by the Wellcome Trust for UK10K (WT091310) and DDD Study. The DDD study presents independent research commissioned by the Health Innovation Challenge Fund [grant number HICF-1009-003] - see www.ddduk.org/access.html for full acknowledgement. This work was supported in part by the Intramural Research Program of the National Human Genome Research Institute and the Common Fund, NIH Office of the Director. This work was supported in part by the German Ministry of Research and Education (grant nos. 01GS08160 and 01GS08167; German Mental Retardation Network) as part of the National Genome Research Network to A.R. and D.W. and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (AB393/2-2) to A.R. Brain expression data was provided by the UK Human Brain Expression Consortium (UKBEC), which comprises John A. Hardy, Mina Ryten, Michael Weale, Daniah Trabzuni, Adaikalavan Ramasamy, Colin Smith and Robert Walker, affiliated with UCL Institute of Neurology (J.H., M.R., D.T.), King’s College London (M.R., M.W., A.R.) and the University of Edinburgh (C.S., R.W.)

The geology of potash deposits at PCS Cory mine, Saskatchewan

Salt anomalies are a common problem to potash mining in Saskatchewan. The geology of the PCS Cory potash mine in the Patience Lake Member of the Prairie Evaporite Formation was studied to attempt to find indicators of proximity to anomalies. Initially, a basic understanding of normal potash ore was needed to provide a foundation of data for the study. The ore zone was divided into six units, based on potash rock­types and clay seams. The units may be correlated throughout the mine with varying degrees of success and are mappable. The potash deposition appears to have been cyclic, expressed in the repetitive distribution of hematite and other insoluble minerals. Four potash cycles, each about 1 m thick, make up the lower Patience Lake Member. In the upper Patience Lake Member there are 3 complete potash cycles, and 3 or 4 incomplete potash cycles. The cyclic distribution of disseminated insolubles was possibly due to a combination of source proximity and the strength of winds. The potash salts and associated iron oxides probably formed just beneath the sediment surface. Possible disconformities, created by the dissolution of overlying potash-bearing beds, may be indicated by an abundance of residual hematite in clay seams. Desiccation polygons, desiccation cracks, microkarst pits, and chevron halite crystals indicate that the Patience Lake Member was deposited in a shallow-brine, salt-pan environment. The insoluble minerals found in the PCS Cory samples are, in approximate order of decreasing abundance: dolomite, clays [illite, chlorite (including swelling-chlorite/chlorite), and septechlorite), quartz, anhydrite, hematite, and goethite. Detrital minerals include dolomite, illite (or mica precursors), chlorite, quartz, and fossil fragments. The septechlorite and swelling-chlorite/chlorite are probably authigenic. X-ray peaks and heating data indicate that the chlorites are rich in magnesium. Except in collapse features, the secondary redistribution of insolubles, other than iron oxides, is insignificant. Up to five post-burial facies, including carbonate-mud collapse breccias and bedded sylvinite, may result from post­burial leaching. The effects of the leaching that produced the anomalies, range from weak to strong, from selectively preserving delicate laminae and chevron textures, to deforming and destroying salt beds. Good preservation of iron oxides in halite may indicate that the leaching was weak or of short duration. In leach anomalies, salinities increase downward possibly because fluids exited downward. NaC1-saturated fluids tend to follow the chemical gradient provided by potash beds. Common indicators may exist equally for two different types of anomalies. Large blebs (eg. >200 cm2) of sylvite-poor potash cross-cutting units of an incomplete potash cycle near the top of the ore zone, were found about 5 m from a salt anomaly. Anhydrite was more common in an anomaly than in ore. Once into an anomaly, indicators of a major collapse feature may include: stretched clay seams, folded beds, small collapse features (1-20 m), split clay seams with injected salt, and drops in topography >10 m of the marker seams. Any number, or none, of these indicators may be found close to a major collapse feature. The local abundance of anhydrite in ore may indicate the proximity of a salt anomaly

Accelerating pseudo-marginal MCMC using Gaussian processes

The grouped independence Metropolis–Hastings (GIMH) and Markov chain within Metropolis (MCWM) algorithms are pseudo-marginal methods used to perform Bayesian inference in latent variable models. These methods replace intractable likelihood calculations with unbiased estimates within Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms. The GIMH method has the posterior of interest as its limiting distribution, but suffers from poor mixing if it is too computationally intensive to obtain high-precision likelihood estimates. The MCWM algorithm has better mixing properties, but tends to give conservative approximations of the posterior and is still expensive. A new method is developed to accelerate the GIMH method by using a Gaussian process (GP) approximation to the log-likelihood and train this GP using a short pilot run of the MCWM algorithm. This new method called GP-GIMH is illustrated on simulated data from a stochastic volatility and a gene network model. The new approach produces reasonable posterior approximations in these examples with at least an order of magnitude improvement in computing time. Code to implement the method for the gene network example can be found at http://www.runmycode.org/companion/view/266

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge as Postcolonial Fantasy: Disney, Labor, and the Renegotiation of Border Discourses

In the summer of 2019, Disneyland opened Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, an immersive experience where visitors imagine themselves as members of a resistance army fighting against a colonizing power. As Disney’s theme parks have increasingly become conduits of global flows, the company’s original brand of U.S. exceptionalism has become incompatible with the company’s strategic needs. In this article, we argue that Disney’s newest themed land, Galaxy’s Edge, functions as a reworking of Disney’s colonial discourse and borderland narrative, where postracial borderland fantasies coincide with the conglomerate’s evolution from a national project to a global enterprise. Within this intergalactic borderland, racialized bodies play an important role in creating an authentic experience, but in doing so, perform various forms of labor on behalf of Disney. Through an analysis of the labor that racialized bodies perform at Galaxy’s Edge, we examine how Disney’s modern-day articulation of the borderland obscures the realities of the borderlands beyond the park

Mbu caka ca 1934

Indigenous musi

Neurophysiological correlates of memory change in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders treated with choline

BACKGROUND: Prenatal and early postnatal choline supplementation reduces cognitive and behavioral deficits in animal models of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). In a previously published 9-month clinical trial of choline supplementation in children with FASD, we reported that postnatal choline was associated with improved performance on a hippocampal-dependent recognition memory task. The current paper describes the neurophysiological correlates of that memory performance for trial completers. METHODS: Children with FASD ( = 24) who were enrolled in a clinical trial of choline supplementation were followed for 9 months. Delayed recall on a 9-step elicited imitation task (EI) served as the behavioral measure of recognition memory. Neurophysiological correlates of memory were assessed event-related potentials (ERP). RESULTS: Delayed recall on EI was correlated with two ERP components commonly associated with recognition memory in young children: middle latency negative component (Nc amplitude; range:  = -0.41 to  = -0.44) and positive slow wave (PSW area under the curve; range:  = -0.45 to  = -0.63). No significant ERP differences were observed between the choline and placebo groups at the conclusion of the trial. CONCLUSION: Although the small sample size limits the ability to draw clear conclusions about the treatment effect of choline on ERP, the results suggest a relationship between memory performance and underlying neurophysiological status in FASD. This trial was registered