Acoustic-based syllabic representation an d articulatory gesture detection: Prerequisites for early childhood phonetic an d articulatory development

We describe the perceptual foundations of a sensorimotor model of early childhood phonetic and articulatory development. The model's auditory perception is sensitive to prosodic and syllabic structure and simulates the categorical phonetic perception of late infancy. Importantly, the model relies on exclusively acoustic cues and their statistical distribution in the linguistic environment, avoiding prior assumptions of articulatory-acoustic correlations or linguistic contrasts which are inappropriate for a model of perceptual development. The model detects and categorizes speech segments, which, despite their acoustic basis, correlate with linguistic events and articulatory gestures. The resulting representation supports not only word recognition but also the unique demands of articulatory motor conU-ol and its development. In simulations examining the distinctiveness and faithfulness of the representation, we find that it preserves and makes explicit information about the phonetic properties of the acoustic signal

Transverse Polarization of Beta Particles from Polarized Nuclei

In this thesis an experiment to measure the transverse polarization of electrons from the decay of polarized 60Co is presented. The result [equation; see abstract in scanned thesis for details] is consistent with the predicted polarization based on the V - A theory of the weak interaction and the Weinberg, Salam, Glashow model. The theoretical prediction is [equation; see abstract in scanned thesis for details] where [equation; see abstract in scanned thesis for details]. This is the first measurement of the transverse polarization of beta particles from the decay of polarized nuclei. The polarization of the electrons was measured by scattering them from gold foil and detecting the scattering asymmetry predicted by Mott scattering theory. 60Co nuclei were polarized by embedding them in a ferromagnetic host where they feel a strong hyperfine field. The host foil was attached to a dilution refrigerator to lower the entropy of the nuclei and allow for nuclear polarization.</p

ISU Angus Cow 98398: A Model of Longevity

ISU purebred Angus cow 98398 is a story of longevity and productivity. As the oldest cow in the ISU McNay herd, she is 16 years old, born April 19, 1998 at the former ISU Rhodes Farm, Rhodes, Iowa, Marshall County. She had her first calf in 2001 and has calved every year since, including twins in 2006 and 2008. She and the rest of the ISU research Angus beef herd moved to the ISU McNay Research Farm, Chariton, Iowa, in 2004. She is due with her 16th calf this fall (a heifer), which will make 16 calves in 14 years of calving. With the 2014 calf, she will have had eight bulls and eight heifers averaging 82.5 lb at birth (Table 1). The average adjusted weaning weight of her calves is 515.4 lb (Table1)

Human promoter genomic composition demonstrates non-random groupings that reflect general cellular function

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to determine whether or not there exists nonrandom grouping of cis-regulatory elements within gene promoters that can be perceived independent of gene expression data and whether or not there is any correlation between this grouping and the biological function of the gene. RESULTS: Using ProSpector, a web-based promoter search and annotation tool, we have applied an unbiased approach to analyze the transcription factor binding site frequencies of 1400 base pair genomic segments positioned at 1200 base pairs upstream and 200 base pairs downstream of the transcriptional start site of 7298 commonly studied human genes. Partitional clustering of the transcription factor binding site composition within these promoter segments reveals a small number of gene groups that are selectively enriched for gene ontology terms consistent with distinct aspects of cellular function. Significance ranking of the class-determining transcription factor binding sites within these clusters show substantial overlap between the gene ontology terms of the transcriptions factors associated with the binding sites and the gene ontology terms of the regulated genes within each group. CONCLUSION: Thus, gene sorting by promoter composition alone produces partitions in which the "regulated" and the "regulators" cosegregate into similar functional classes. These findings demonstrate that the transcription factor binding site composition is non-randomly distributed between gene promoters in a manner that reflects and partially defines general gene class function

Differences in epitope-specific antibodies to pertussis toxin after infection and acellular vaccinations

Objectives: Pertussis toxin (PT) is a component of all acellular pertussis vaccines. PT must be detoxified to be included in acellular vaccines, which results in conformational changes in the functional epitopes of PTs. Therefore, induced epitope-specific antibodies to PT may vary after vaccinations or natural infections, and this information could reveal biomarkers implicated for protection and successful immunisation. Methods: Pertussis toxin epitope-specific antibodies in sera from 152 vaccinated children and 72 serologically confirmed patients were tested with a blocking ELISA, based on monoclonal antibodies that target protective PT epitopes. Results: All study groups induced considerable antibody titres to subunit 1 (S1). Of interest, S3 7E10-specific antibodies were present in patients, but not after vaccinations (P < 0.001). The impact of glutaraldehyde treatment of PT was visible on epitope 1D7 (S1), whereas epitopes 1B7 (S1) and 10D (S1) were more preserved. Antibodies to these epitopes were higher after three primary vaccine doses than after a single booster dose. Conclusion: The high amount of 7E10-specific antibodies in patients suggests this epitope might be functionally relevant in protection. The overall characteristics of epitope-specific antibodies are influenced by infection or vaccination background, by the used detoxification method of PT and by the amount of the toxin used in immunisation. </div

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI &lt;18·5 kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). For school&#x2;aged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI &lt;2 SD below the median of the WHO growth reference) and obesity (BMI &gt;2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining underweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesit