Abstracts of unpublished theses on the gifted child found in the School of Education Library at Boston University which were not included in the Gaffney thesis of 1958

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston UniversityAndrews, Charles Herbert. "A Survey of Curriculum Materials of Value for the Teaching of Gifted Elementary School Children in the Language Arts Area." Unpublished Ed. M. Thesis, Boston University School of Education, 1957. Problem. To determine the curriculum materials which should be included in an elementary school classroom devoted to the maximal effective teaching of gifted children in the language arts area. [TRUNCATED

A New Megalonychid Sloth From the Late Wisconsinan of the Dominican Republic

An unusually well preserved skull, mandible, and indisputably associated post-cranial elements of new sloth, Acratocnus (Miocnus), were recovered from a cave in Jaragua National Park, Dominican Republic. The animal died lying in a rimstone pool and was rapidly coated with a thin calcite patina. We have documented a late Wisconsinan age for this specimen by inorganic 14C radiometric dating of the patina, with supporting data on the carbon systematics of the speleothems in this cave. This sloth is described as a new species on the basis of the distinctive morphology and relative size of cranial and mandibular features. We consider the close relationship between Acratocnus of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico to constitute clear evidence for late Tertiary inter-island dispersal of this lineage, congruent with similar evidence from other West Indian terrestrial mammal orders

Improved analytical methods for microarray-based genome-composition analysis

BACKGROUND: Whereas genome sequencing has given us high-resolution pictures of many different species of bacteria, microarrays provide a means of obtaining information on genome composition for many strains of a given species. Genome-composition analysis using microarrays, or 'genomotyping', can be used to categorize genes into 'present' and 'divergent' categories based on the level of hybridization signal. This typically involves selecting a signal value that is used as a cutoff to discriminate present (high signal) and divergent (low signal) genes. Current methodology uses empirical determination of cutoffs for classification into these categories, but this methodology is subject to several problems that can result in the misclassification of many genes. RESULTS: We describe a method that depends on the shape of the signal-ratio distribution and does not require empirical determination of a cutoff. Moreover, the cutoff is determined on an array-to-array basis, accounting for variation in strain composition and hybridization quality. The algorithm also provides an estimate of the probability that any given gene is present, which provides a measure of confidence in the categorical assignments. CONCLUSIONS: Many genes previously classified as present using static methods are in fact divergent on the basis of microarray signal; this is corrected by our algorithm. We have reassigned hundreds of genes from previous genomotyping studies of Helicobacter pylori and Campylobacter jejuni strains, and expect that the algorithm should be widely applicable to genomotyping data

Monomeric ephrinB2 binding induces allosteric changes in Nipah virus G that precede its full activation.

Nipah virus is an emergent paramyxovirus that causes deadly encephalitis and respiratory infections in humans. Two glycoproteins coordinate the infection of host cells, an attachment protein (G), which binds to cell surface receptors, and a fusion (F) protein, which carries out the process of virus-cell membrane fusion. The G protein binds to ephrin B2/3 receptors, inducing G conformational changes that trigger F protein refolding. Using an optical approach based on second harmonic generation, we show that monomeric and dimeric receptors activate distinct conformational changes in G. The monomeric receptor-induced changes are not detected by conformation-sensitive monoclonal antibodies or through electron microscopy analysis of G:ephrinB2 complexes. However, hydrogen/deuterium exchange experiments confirm the second harmonic generation observations and reveal allosteric changes in the G receptor binding and F-activating stalk domains, providing insights into the pathway of receptor-activated virus entry.Nipah virus causes encephalitis in humans. Here the authors use a multidisciplinary approach to study the binding of the viral attachment protein G to its host receptor ephrinB2 and show that monomeric and dimeric receptors activate distinct conformational changes in G and discuss implications for receptor-activated virus entry

Race/Ethnicity and Geographic Access to Urban Trauma Care

Importance Little is known about the distribution of life-saving trauma resources by racial/ethnic composition in US cities, and if racial/ethnic minority populations disproportionately live in US urban trauma deserts. Objective To examine racial/ethnic differences in geographic access to trauma care in the 3 largest US cities, considering the role of residential segregation and neighborhood poverty. Design, Setting, and Participants A cross-sectional, multiple-methods study evaluated census tract data from the 2015 American Community Survey in Chicago, Illinois; Los Angeles (LA), California; and New York City (NYC), New York (N = 3932). These data were paired to geographic coordinates of all adult level I and II trauma centers within an 8.0-km buffer of each city. Between February and September 2018, small-area analyses were conducted to assess trauma desert status as a function of neighborhood racial/ethnic composition, and geospatial analyses were conducted to examine statistically significant trauma desert hot spots. Main Outcomes and Measures In small-area analyses, a trauma desert was defined as travel distance greater than 8.0 km to the nearest adult level I or level II trauma center. In geospatial analyses, relative trauma deserts were identified using travel distance as a continuous measure. Census tracts were classified into (1) racial/ethnic composition categories, based on patterns of residential segregation, including white majority, black majority, Hispanic/Latino majority, and other or integrated; and (2) poverty categories, including nonpoor and poor. Results Chicago, LA, and NYC contained 798, 1006, and 2128 census tracts, respectively. A large proportion comprised a black majority population in Chicago (35.1%) and NYC (21.4%), compared with LA (2.7%). In primary analyses, black majority census tracts were more likely than white majority census tracts to be located in a trauma desert in Chicago (odds ratio [OR], 8.48; 95% CI, 5.71-12.59) and LA (OR, 5.11; 95% CI, 1.50-17.39). In NYC, racial/ethnic disparities were not significant in unadjusted models, but were significant in models adjusting for poverty and race-poverty interaction effects (adjusted OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.27-2.74). In comparison, Hispanic/Latino majority census tracts were less likely to be located in a trauma desert in NYC (OR, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.01-0.11) and LA (OR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.22-0.40), but slightly more likely in Chicago (OR, 2.38; 95% CI, 1.56-3.64). Conclusions and Relevance In this study, black majority census tracts were the only racial/ethnic group that appeared to be associated with disparities in geographic access to trauma centers

Implementing a Novel Facility-Community Intervention for Strengthening Integration of Infant Nutrition and Family Planning in Mara and Kagera, Tanzania

Tanzania has high fertility, low contraceptive prevalence and low exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). The Lake Zone, including Mara and Kagera regions, leads the country in total fertility; use of the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM) is negligible. This pre-/post-study explored the effects of a multi-level facility and community intervention (service delivery support, community engagement, media and LAM tracking) to integrate maternal and infant nutrition and postpartum family planning (FP) within existing health contacts. Mixed methods were used, including service statistics, exit interviews, patient-tracking tools for community health workers, client self-tracking tools, supervision data, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. Results are presented using the reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance (RE-AIM) implementation science framework. The intervention reached primarily the second and fourth wealth quintiles, increased FP and EBF at six weeks postpartum. LAM was very acceptable, provided an entry point for FP conversations and for addressing misconceptions, and reinforced EBF practices. Partners felt encouraged to support spousal nutrition, breastfeeding and FP. Higher adoption in Kagera may be influenced by performance-based financing. The intervention was implemented with generally high fidelity. Maintenance data reflected stakeholder interest in continuing the intervention. A multi-level facility and community intervention was feasible to implement and likely contributed to improved EBF practices and FP uptake, including LAM use