Letter to William Younger regarding Lucile Elliott Scholarship application, March 17, 1976

A letter from Linda Hand to William Younger asking Younger to provide a reference for Hand for the Lucile Elliott Scholarship

Fundamental Theorem of Algebra: A Survey of History and Proofs

Higher Educatio

Sustainable Delivery of Speech-Language Therapy Services in Small Island Developing States Using Information and Communication Technology – A Study of the Maldives

Small Island Developing States (SIDS), a subgroup of Majority world countries, face complex challenges providing equitable access to speech-language therapy (SLT) services. Increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance SLT services is seen in the Minority world. This study explored the potential of using ICT to provide sustainable SLT services in one SIDS, the Maldives. A mixed method approach was used integrating data from (a) 21 online documents, (b) interview with an ICT official, and (c) surveys of 13 island councillors and 73 parents of children with communication difficulties. Almost 100% of the population had access to mobile phones and mobile broadband internet. Most parents were active and frequent ICT users. The government provided financial aid for people with disabilities which could be utilised to access ICT for services. Asynchronous service delivery using accessible ICT and parents as agents of service delivery can potentially enhance SLT services

Use of politeness markers with different communication partners: an investigation of five subjects with traumatic brain injury

Politeness is a complex interpersonal phenomenon which has received considerable attention by linguists over recent years. This paper presents preliminary work which examines some methodological and theoretical issues related to the concept of politeness using the systemic functional approach. Results are presented for five traumatically brain injured subjects and five matched controls during telephone interactions with four different interlocutors. The results indicate that TBI subjects are able to access a wide variety of politeness strategies; however, their ability to manipulate these across the four different tenor relationships is impaired when compared with control subjects. The richness of this approach in highlighting the unique features of communication disorders following traumatic brain injury and new ways to approach their management is discussed

It Works Both Ways: Transfer Difficulties between Manipulatives and Written Subtraction Solutions

Three experiments compared performance and transfer among children aged 83-94 months after written or manipulatives instruction on two-digit subtraction. In Experiment 1, all children completed the posttest in a written format, while in Experiment 2, all children took a posttest using manipulatives. Experiment 3 investigated how altered surface features of the blocks affected posttest performance, subtraction strategies and mathematical behaviors. In the first two experiments, children demonstrated performance gains when the posttest format was identical to the instructed format, but failed to demonstrate transfer from the instructed format to an incongruent posttest. Posttest performance in these two experiments provides evidence for bidirectional challenges in transfer between manipulatives and written instruction. In the third experiment, children who learned with standard, unaltered blocks more often used productive problem-solving strategies and engaged in mathematical behaviors significantly more often than children who used blocks with altered surface features. Flexibility and the need to provide explicit links between written and manipulatives instruction are discussed.Fil: David, Uttal H.. Northwestern University; Estados UnidosFil: Amaya, Meredith. Northwestern University; Estados UnidosFil: Maita, María del Rosario. Northwestern University; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Rosario. Instituto Rosario de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Educación; ArgentinaFil: Liu Hand, Linda. Northwestern University; Estados Unidos. University of Iowa; Estados UnidosFil: Cohen, Cheryl. Northwestern University; Estados UnidosFil: O'Doherty, Katherine. Vanderbilt University; Estados UnidosFil: Deloache, Judy. University of Virginia; Estados Unido

Dietary analysis of an uncharacteristic population of the Mountain Pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus) in the Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia

Background The Mountain Pygmy-possum (Burramys parvus) is a critically endangered marsupial, endemic to alpine regions of southern Australia. We investigated the diet of a recently discovered population of the possum in northern Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, Australia. This new population occurs at elevations well below the once-presumed lower elevation limit of 1,600 m. Goals and Methods Faecal material was analysed to determine if dietary composition differed between individuals in the newly discovered northern population and those in the higher elevation southern population, and to examine how diet was influenced by rainfall in the southern population and seasonal changes in resource availability in the northern population. Results and Discussion The diet of B. parvus in the northern population comprised of arthropods, fruits and seeds. Results indicate the diet of both populations shares most of the same invertebrate orders and plant species. However, in the absence of preferred food types available to the southern population, individuals of the northern population opportunistically consumed different species that were similar to those preferred by individuals in higher altitude populations. Differing rainfall amounts had a significant effect on diet, with years of below average rainfall having a greater percentage composition and diversity of invertebrates. Seasonal variation was also recorded, with the northern population increasing the diversity of invertebrates in their diet during the Autumn months when Bogong Moths (Agrotis infusa) were absent from those sites, raising questions about the possum’s dependence on the species Conclusions Measurable effects of rainfall amount and seasonal variation on the dietary composition suggest that predicted climatic variability will have a significant impact on its diet, potentially impacting its future survival. Findings suggest that it is likely that B. parvus is not restricted by dietary requirements to its current pattern of distribution. This new understanding needs to be considered when formulating future conservation strategies for this critically endangered species

Stress, Self-Efficacy, Worries, and Challenges for Caregivers of Children with Type 1 Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Approximately 200,000 American youth live with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Intensive daily management is critical to optimize disease outcomes. Little is known about COVID-19 pandemic effects on persons with T1D and their caregivers. We hypothesized caregivers would report increased stress, lower self-efficacy (SE), and more difficult diabetes management associated with the pandemic. Methods: A 49-item survey using Likert scales and open-ended response questions was distributed via email and T1D-related social media platforms from May 4-June 2,2020 to caregivers of children with T1D <18 years of age. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) SE short form was used to measure general SE. Results: 260 caregivers completed surveys: 94.2% female, mean age 42.4±7.7 years, 80.3% college degree or higher, 53.8% annual income >$99,000, 77.3% privately insured. Mean child age 11.0±4.1 years, mean T1D duration 4.2±3.4 years. 24.2% reported having COVID-19 or knowing someone diagnosed with COVID-19. 71.9% reported greater stress than before the pandemic. 9.6% reported job loss, 25.8% financial difficulty related to COVID-19. General SE levels were high, significantly correlated with overall COVID-19-related SE (r=0.394, p<0.001), and T1D care-SE during COVID-19 (r=0.421, p<0.001). 210 respondents provided open-ended response qualitative information on worries: 87.6% reported a worry, remainder not worried. Common worries were COVID-19-related diabetes complications including uncontrolled blood sugars, diabetic ketoacidosis, and worry about child’s increased risk for severe disease, including death. 209 reported about challenges; 90.9% stated they had at least one challenge. Family isolation and mental health were the most-stated challenges. Conclusion: Despite reporting high overall SE, caregivers of T1D children during the pandemic reported greater overall stress, worries, and challenges. Given that data do not suggest that children with T1D are at increased risk of COVID-19 complications, healthcare providers should work to address this knowledge gap while providing families with social and mental health supports

Protein kinase B controls transcriptional programs that direct cytotoxic T cell fate but is dispensable for T cell metabolism

SummaryIn cytotoxic T cells (CTL), Akt, also known as protein kinase B, is activated by the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) and the cytokine interleukin 2 (IL-2). Akt can control cell metabolism in many cell types but whether this role is important for CTL function has not been determined. Here we have shown that Akt does not mediate IL-2- or TCR-induced cell metabolic responses; rather, this role is assumed by other Akt-related kinases. There is, however, a nonredundant role for sustained and strong activation of Akt in CTL to coordinate the TCR- and IL-2-induced transcriptional programs that control expression of key cytolytic effector molecules, adhesion molecules, and cytokine and chemokine receptors that distinguish effector versus memory and naive T cells. Akt is thus dispensable for metabolism, but the strength and duration of Akt activity dictates the CTL transcriptional program and determines CTL fate

Dynamic recruitment of microRNAs to their mRNA targets in the regenerating liver.

BACKGROUND: Validation of physiologic miRNA targets has been met with significant challenges. We employed HITS-CLIP to identify which miRNAs participate in liver regeneration, and to identify their target mRNAs. RESULTS: miRNA recruitment to the RISC is highly dynamic, changing more than five-fold for several miRNAs. miRNA recruitment to the RISC did not correlate with changes in overall miRNA expression for these dynamically recruited miRNAs, emphasizing the necessity to determine miRNA recruitment to the RISC in order to fully assess the impact of miRNA regulation. We incorporated RNA-seq quantification of total mRNA to identify expression-weighted Ago footprints, and developed a microRNA regulatory element (MRE) prediction algorithm that represents a greater than 20-fold refinement over computational methods alone. These high confidence MREs were used to generate candidate \u27competing endogenous RNA\u27 (ceRNA) networks. CONCLUSION: HITS-CLIP analysis provide novel insights into global miRNA:mRNA relationships in the regenerating liver