Synchrony, complexity and directiveness in mothers\u27 interactions with infants pre- and post-cochlear implantation

This study investigated effects of profound hearing loss on mother–infant interactions before and after cochlear implantation with a focus on maternal synchrony, complexity, and directiveness. Participants included two groups of mother–infant dyads: 9 dyads of mothers and infants with normal hearing; and 9 dyads of hearing mothers and infants with profound hearing loss. Dyads were observed at two time points: Time 1, scheduled to occur before cochlear implantation for infants with profound hearing loss (mean age = 13.6 months); and Time 2 (mean age = 23.3 months), scheduled to occur approximately six months after cochlear implantation. Hearing infants were age-matched to infants with hearing loss at both time points. Dependent variables included the proportion of maternal utterances that overlapped infant vocalizations, maternal mean length of utterance, infant word use, and combined maternal directives and prohibitions. Results showed mothers’ utterances overlapped the vocalizations of infants with hearing loss more often before cochlear implantation than after, mothers used less complex utterances with infants with cochlear implants compared to hearing peers (Time 2), and mothers of infants with profound hearing loss used frequent directives and prohibitions both before and after cochlear implantation. Together, mothers and infants adapted relatively quickly to infants’ access to cochlear implants, showing improved interactional synchrony, increased infant word use, and levels of maternal language complexity compatible with infants’ word use, all within seven months of cochlear implant activation

Rit2-Dependent Dopamine Transporter Endocytosis: Intrinsic Mechanism and In Vivo Impact

Dopamine (DA) governs movement, sleep, reward, and cognition. The presynaptic dopamine transporter (DAT), clears released DA, controlling DA signaling and homeostasis. Genetic DAT ablation causes hyperactivity, sleep reduction, and altered psychostimulant response. DAT surface expression is dynamic; DAT constitutively internalizes and recycles to and from the plasma membrane, and acute PKC activation stimulates DAT endocytosis. Cell line experiments demonstrated that PKC-stimulated DAT endocytosis requires Ack1 inactivation and the GTPase, Rit2. How Rit2 controls PKC-dependent DAT internalization, or whether regulated DAT endocytosis impacts behavior, is unknown. Here, I present data supporting that PKC activation stimulates Rit2/DAT dissociation, mediated by the DAT N-terminus. Further, Ack1 and Rit2 function independently to facilitate PKC-stimulated DAT internalization. Moreover, PKC-stimulated DAT endocytosis was limited to ventral striatum in ex vivo slice preparations, and required Rit2. Our lab previously demonstrated that certain DA-dependent behaviors required DAergic Rit2 in mice, however whether this was due to perturbed PKC-stimulated DAT internalization, or DAT-independent Rit2 function(s) remains untested. To address this, I turned to Drosophila and its Rit2 homolog Ric. I found that Ric and dDAT proteins interact in cell lines, and that constitutively active Ric (RicQ117L) increased dDAT function in cultured cells and ex vivo whole fly brains. However, neither DAergic Ric knockdown nor RicQ117L altered overall locomotion or sleep, suggesting that these fundamental behaviors do not require DAergic Ric. Together, these results expand our understanding of intrinsic mechanisms controlling DAT endocytosis, and their impact on behavior

EMINENT DOMAIN Condemnation Procedure Generally: Provide for Award of Reasonable Expenses in Condemnation Cases; Provide for Substantial Revision of Provisions Relating to Special Masters in Condemnation Cases; Provide for Special Master Panels; Provide for Powers, Duties, and Procedures; Change Provisions Relating to Notices and Advertisements Regarding Acquisition of Property for Transportation Purposes; Change Provisions Relating to Interlocutory Hearings Regarding Adequate Compensation

The Act impacts the three statutorily defined methods of condemnation proceedings previously established by Georgia law. The three condemnation methods are: (1) the three assessor method; (2) the special master method; and (3) the declaration of taking method.\u27 In condemnation proceedings over which assessors preside, the Act establishes minimal qualifications for assessors, limits the assessors\u27 costs, and allows reasonable expenses to be awarded on appeal under certain circumstances. In condemnation proceedings before special masters, the Act provides for special master panels and allows reasonable expenses to be awarded on appeal under certain circumstances. The Act also provides for advertising procedures in connection with the condemnation of property for public transportation purposes. Finally, the Act changes the provisions relating to interlocutory hearings in proceedings regarding condemnation of property for public transportation purposes

EMINENT DOMAIN Condemnation Procedure Generally: Provide for Award of Reasonable Expenses in Condemnation Cases; Provide for Substantial Revision of Provisions Relating to Special Masters in Condemnation Cases; Provide for Special Master Panels; Provide for Powers, Duties, and Procedures; Change Provisions Relating to Notices and Advertisements Regarding Acquisition of Property for Transportation Purposes; Change Provisions Relating to Interlocutory Hearings Regarding Adequate Compensation

The Act impacts the three statutorily defined methods of condemnation proceedings previously established by Georgia law. The three condemnation methods are: (1) the three assessor method; (2) the special master method; and (3) the declaration of taking method.\u27 In condemnation proceedings over which assessors preside, the Act establishes minimal qualifications for assessors, limits the assessors\u27 costs, and allows reasonable expenses to be awarded on appeal under certain circumstances. In condemnation proceedings before special masters, the Act provides for special master panels and allows reasonable expenses to be awarded on appeal under certain circumstances. The Act also provides for advertising procedures in connection with the condemnation of property for public transportation purposes. Finally, the Act changes the provisions relating to interlocutory hearings in proceedings regarding condemnation of property for public transportation purposes

Confronting the psychological and emotional effects of disability oppression

This research project will administer the Rand 36-Item Health Survey to a subject pool of approximately twenty-one people to measure their quality of life. The results of this study will be compared to a similar population of subjects who were administered the Rand. The results are to help describe the forms of class struggles that exist for disabled Americans. I describe the different forms of discrimination and the struggles that disabled Americans face. Specifically, I describe how those with Multiple Sclerosis meet the challenges of surviving. My research project is descriptive and the research question is, “what is the quality of life for clients of the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project in Monterey� I administered The Rand 36-Item Health Survey over the phone. The study is not statistically valid due to the sample size of clients from MSQLP. Evaluating the 21 clients I administered the Rand-36 Item Health Survey to 17 of them were women and 4 were men. I scored each clients survey to discover their physical functioning, general health, and level of pain. I then calculated the mean for each area of all of the clients. I found that the mean for physical functioning is 40%, general health is at 73%, and the average level of pain is 12%

Heat shock increases conjugation efficiency in Clostridium difficile

Clostridium difficile infection has increased in incidence and severity over the past decade, and poses a unique threat to human health. However, genetic manipulation of C. difficile remains in its infancy and the bacterium remains relatively poorly characterised. Low-efficiency conjugation is currently the only available method for transfer of plasmid DNA into C. difficile. This is practically limiting and has slowed progress in understanding this important pathogen. Conjugation efficiency varies widely between strains, with important clinically relevant strains such as R20291 being particularly refractory to plasmid transfer. Here we present an optimised conjugation method in which the recipient C. difficile is heat treated prior to conjugation. This significantly improves conjugation efficiency in all C. difficile strains tested including R20291. Conjugation efficiency was also affected by the choice of media on which conjugations were performed, with standard BHI media giving most transconjugant recovery. Using our optimised method greatly increased the ease with which the chromosome of R20291 could be precisely manipulated by homologous recombination. Our method improves on current conjugation protocols and will help speed genetic manipulation of strains otherwise difficult to work with

Magnetization profile for impurities in graphene nanoribbons

The magnetic properties of graphene-related materials and in particular the spin-polarised edge states predicted for pristine graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) with certain edge geometries have received much attention recently due to a range of possible technological applications. However, the magnetic properties of pristine GNRs are not predicted to be particularly robust in the presence of edge disorder. In this work, we examine the magnetic properties of GNRs doped with transition-metal atoms using a combination of mean-field Hubbard and Density Functional Theory techniques. The effect of impurity location on the magnetic moment of such dopants in GNRs is investigated for the two principal GNR edge geometries - armchair and zigzag. Moment profiles are calculated across the width of the ribbon for both substitutional and adsorbed impurities and regular features are observed for zigzag-edged GNRs in particular. Unlike the case of edge-state induced magnetisation, the moments of magnetic impurities embedded in GNRs are found to be particularly stable in the presence of edge disorder. Our results suggest that the magnetic properties of transition-metal doped GNRs are far more robust than those with moments arising intrinsically due to edge geometry.Comment: submitte