Supporting play exploration and early developmental intervention versus usual care to enhance development outcomes during the transition from the neonatal intensive care unit to home: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Background While therapy services may start in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) there is often a gap in therapy after discharge. Supporting Play Exploration and Early Development Intervention (SPEEDI) supports parents, helping them build capacity to provide developmentally supportive opportunities starting in the NICU and continuing at home. The purpose of this single blinded randomized pilot clinical trial was to evaluate the initial efficacy of SPEEDI to improve early reaching and exploratory problem solving behaviors. Methods Fourteen infants born very preterm or with neonatal brain injury were randomly assigned to SPEEDI or Usual Care. The SPEEDI group participated in 5 collaborative parent, therapist, and infant interventions sessions in the NICU (Phase 1) and 5 at home (Phase 2). Parents provided daily opportunities designed to support the infants emerging motor control and exploratory behaviors. Primary outcome measures were assessed at the end of the intervention, 1 and 3 months after the intervention ended. Reaching was assessed with the infant supported in an infant chair using four 30 s trials. The Early Problem Solving Indicator was used to evaluate the frequency of behaviors during standardized play based assessment. Effect sizes are including for secondary outcomes including the Test of Infant Motor Performance and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development. Results No group differences were found in the duration of toy contact. There was a significant group effect on (F1,8 = 4.04, p = 0.08) early exploratory problem-solving behaviors with infants in the SPEEDI group demonstrating greater exploration with effect sizes of 1.3, 0.6, and 0.9 at the end of the intervention, 1 and 3 months post-intervention. Conclusions While further research is needed, this initial efficacy study showed promising results for the ability of SPEEDI to impact early problem solving behaviors at the end of intervention and at least 3 months after the intervention is over. While reaching did not show group differences, a ceiling effect may have contributed to this finding. This single blinded pilot RCT was registered prior to subject enrollment on 5/27/14 at ClinicalTrials.Gov with number NCT02153736

The trace fossil Lepidenteron lewesiensis: a taphonomic window on diversity of Late Cretaceous fishes

The trace fossil Lepidenteron lewesiensis (Mantell 1822) provides an exceptional taphonomic window to diversity of fishes as shown for the Upper Cretaceous of Poland, in the Middle Turonian–Lower Maastrichtian deposits of the Opole Trough, Miechów Trough, Mazury-Podlasie Homocline, and SE part of the Border Synclinorium. Lepidenteron lewesiensis is an unbranched burrow lined with small fish scales and bones, without a constructed wall. It contains scales, vertebrae, and bones of the head belonging to ten taxa of teleostean fishes: two undetermined teleosteans, six undetermined Clupeocephala, one Dercetidae, and one undetermined euteleostean. The preservation of fish remains suggests that fishes were pulled down into the burrow by an animal, probably by eunicid polychaetes.Das Spurenfossil Lepidenteron lewesiensis (Mantell 1822) ermöglicht einen biostratinomischen Einblick in die Diversität von Fischen, wie Fossilmaterial aus der Oberkreide von Polen zeigt. Es stammt aus dem Mittelturonium bis Untermaastrichtium des südöstlichen Abschnittes der Grenz-Synklinale, dem Opolen-Trog, dem Miechów-Trog und der Masuren-Podlachien-Homoklinale. L. lewesiensis ist ein unverzweigter Grabgang ohne ausgekleidete Wände, dessen Ränder von kleinen Fischschuppen und—knochen gebildet werden. Diese setzen sich aus Schuppen, Wirbel und Schädelknochen von zehn Teleostei-Taxa zusammen und zwar aus zwei unbestimmte Teleosteer, sechs unbestimmten Clupeocephala, einem Dercetidae und einem unbestimmten Euteleostei. Die Erhaltung der Fischüberreste deutet darauf hin, dass die Fische von einem Tier, wahrscheinlich einem Polychaeten der Familie Eunicidae, in den Bau gezogen wurden.We are very grateful to Dr. Lionel Cavin (Geneva) and the anonymous reviewer for constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Additional support was provided by the Jagiellonian University (DS funds), National Science Center (Grant Number: PRO-2011/01/N/ST10/07717), and the Laboratory of Geology (University of Lodz) BSt Grant No. 560/844. We are grateful to Dr. Johann Egger (Wien) and Kilian Eichenseer M.Sc. (Erlangen) for help with translating the abstract into German. We are grateful to Dr. Ursula Göhlich (Wien) for access to the Dercetis specimen

Degradation of cellular mir-27 by a novel, highly abundant viral transcript is important for efficient virus replication in vivo.

Cytomegaloviruses express large amounts of viral miRNAs during lytic infection, yet, they only modestly alter the cellular miRNA profile. The most prominent alteration upon lytic murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection is the rapid degradation of the cellular miR-27a and miR-27b. Here, we report that this regulation is mediated by the ∼1.7 kb spliced and highly abundant MCMV m169 transcript. Specificity to miR-27a/b is mediated by a single, apparently optimized, miRNA binding site located in its 3'-UTR. This site is easily and efficiently retargeted to other cellular and viral miRNAs by target site replacement. Expression of the 3'-UTR of m169 by an adenoviral vector was sufficient to mediate its function, indicating that no other viral factors are essential in this process. Degradation of miR-27a/b was found to be accompanied by 3'-tailing and -trimming. Despite its dramatic effect on miRNA stability, we found this interaction to be mutual, indicating potential regulation of m169 by miR-27a/b. Most interestingly, three mutant viruses no longer able to target miR-27a/b, either due to miRNA target site disruption or target site replacement, showed significant attenuation in multiple organs as early as 4 days post infection, indicating that degradation of miR-27a/b is important for efficient MCMV replication in vivo

The Lid Domain of Caenorhabditis elegans Hsc70 Influences ATP Turnover, Cofactor Binding and Protein Folding Activity

Hsc70 is a conserved ATP-dependent molecular chaperone, which utilizes the energy of ATP hydrolysis to alter the folding state of its client proteins. In contrast to the Hsc70 systems of bacteria, yeast and humans, the Hsc70 system of C. elegans (CeHsc70) has not been studied to date

MicroRNA degradation by a conserved target RNA regulates animal behavior

International audiencemicroRNAs (miRNAs) repress target transcripts through partial complementarity. By contrast, highly complementary miRNA-binding sites within viral and artificially engineered transcripts induce miRNA degradation in vitro and in cell lines. Here, we show that a genome-encoded transcript harboring a near-perfect and deeply conserved miRNA-binding site for miR-29 controls zebrafish and mouse behavior. This transcript originated in basal vertebrates as a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and evolved to the protein-coding gene NREP in mammals, where the miR-29-binding site is located within the 3′ UTR. We show that the near-perfect miRNA site selectively triggers miR-29b destabilization through 3′ trimming and restricts its spatial expression in the cerebellum. Genetic disruption of the miR-29 site within mouse Nrep results in ectopic expression of cerebellar miR-29b and impaired coordination and motor learning. Thus, we demonstrate an endogenous target-RNA-directed miRNA degradation event and its requirement for animal behavio

Transcriptional Activation of the Adenoviral Genome Is Mediated by Capsid Protein VI

Gene expression of DNA viruses requires nuclear import of the viral genome. Human Adenoviruses (Ads), like most DNA viruses, encode factors within early transcription units promoting their own gene expression and counteracting cellular antiviral defense mechanisms. The cellular transcriptional repressor Daxx prevents viral gene expression through the assembly of repressive chromatin remodeling complexes targeting incoming viral genomes. However, it has remained unclear how initial transcriptional activation of the adenoviral genome is achieved. Here we show that Daxx mediated repression of the immediate early Ad E1A promoter is efficiently counteracted by the capsid protein VI. This requires a conserved PPxY motif in protein VI. Capsid proteins from other DNA viruses were also shown to activate the Ad E1A promoter independent of Ad gene expression and support virus replication. Our results show how Ad entry is connected to transcriptional activation of their genome in the nucleus. Our data further suggest a common principle for genome activation of DNA viruses by counteracting Daxx related repressive mechanisms through virion proteins

Regulation of microRNA biogenesis and turnover by animals and their viruses

Item does not contain fulltextMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a ubiquitous component of gene regulatory networks that modulate the precise amounts of proteins expressed in a cell. Despite their small size, miRNA genes contain various recognition elements that enable specificity in when, where and to what extent they are expressed. The importance of precise control of miRNA expression is underscored by functional studies in model organisms and by the association between miRNA mis-expression and disease. In the last decade, identification of the pathways by which miRNAs are produced, matured and turned-over has revealed many aspects of their biogenesis that are subject to regulation. Studies in viral systems have revealed a range of mechanisms by which viruses target these pathways through viral proteins or non-coding RNAs in order to regulate cellular gene expression. In parallel, a field of study has evolved around the activation and suppression of antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) by viruses. Virus encoded suppressors of RNAi can impact miRNA biogenesis in cases where miRNA and small interfering RNA pathways converge. Here we review the literature on the mechanisms by which miRNA biogenesis and turnover are regulated in animals and the diverse strategies that viruses use to subvert or inhibit these processes

Kryteria i metody wyboru rodzaju żurawi budowalnych w planowaniu robót montażowych

Przedmiotem artykułu jest problem wyboru maszyn do wykonania robót montażowych. Wybór ten realizowany jest metodami MCDA, do których stosowania wykorzystuje się oceny rozwiązań przez pryzmat istotnych kryteriów z określeniem ich wag. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań ankietowych i ich analizę ustalające istotność i wagi kryteriów. Przeprowadzono badania wśród kierowników robót oraz planistów w polskich przedsiębiorstwach zajmujących się prowadzeniem robót montażowych, ustalając istotność 14 kryteriów 9 technologicznych i 5 związanych z preferencjami wykonawców lub czynnikami ekonomiczno-rynkowymi. Celem badań ankietowych było ustalenie miar istotności kryteriów decydujących o wyborze rodzaju żurawi budowlanych, oraz ocena żurawi względem tych kryteriów.Crane selection is an important issue in assembly works planning. Tower and telescopic, stationary and mobile cranes used in construction have essentially different properties. Assembly planning begins in analyzing the possibilities of assembly with a given crane. This is called technical aspect of crane selection. Cranes that meet the technical criteria are then analyzed in terms of other criteria related to the effectiveness of their use on the construction site. The article presents the assessment of the selection criteria and the method of crane selection itself. Surveys conducted among construction managers and planners in Polish companies dealing with assembly works allowed to determine the significance of the selection criteria. For this purpose, an example using SAW (Simple Additive Weighting) and FSAW (Fuzzy Simple Additive Weighting) methods was presented. They also allowed to propose a technique for determining preferences in the use of selected construction cranes. The aim of the research was to increase the usability of computer applications supporting assembly planning by acquiring expert knowledge for the initial selection of organizational solutions

Stratigraphy and ammonite fauna of the Cenomanian of Westphalia

The Cenomanian ammonitefaunas of the Munster Basin are systematically and stratigraphically revised. They comprise 75 species, referred to 33 genera. In addition to SCHLUTER's (1871-1876) type-material, the specimens figured by WIEDMANN AND SCHNEIDER (1979) and KAPLAN, KELLER AND WIEDMANN (1985) are redescribed and partially refigured. The ammonites occur in four different facies associations: the arenaceous glauconitic Essen-Greensand in the west, the red limestone pocket of Muhlheim-Broich within the Essen Greensand depositional area, the Planer limestone-facies in the east, and chalks in the north of the Munster basin. The ammonite occurrences are described in the context of biostratigraphy, of regional lithostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy, and cyclostratigraphy. The ammonite zones recognized are closely comparable to those of the Anglo Paris basin, especially these of southern England. The bio- and event stratigraphic correlation with the Cenomanian of Poland, Mangyshlak and the Crimea is described and discussed