Auditory frequency discrimination in developmental dyslexia: a meta-analysis

Auditory frequency discrimination has been used as an index of sensory processing in developmental language disorders such as dyslexia, where group differences have often been interpreted as evidence for a basic deficit in auditory processing that underpins and constrains individual variability in the development of phonological skills. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the cumulative evidence for group differences in frequency discrimination and to explore the impact of some potential moderator variables that could contribute to variability in effect-size estimations across studies. Our analyses revealed mean effect sizes for group differences on frequency discrimination tasks on the order of three-quarters of a standard deviation, but in the presence of substantial inter-study variability in their magnitude. Moderator variable analyses indicated that factors related both to participant variability on behavioural and cognitive variables associated with the dyslexia phenotype, and to variability in the task design, contributed to differences in the magnitude of effect size across studies. The apparently complex pattern of results was compounded by the lack of concurrent, standardised metrics of cognitive and reading component skills across the constituent studies. Differences on sensory processing tasks are often reported in studies of developmental disorders, but these need to be more carefully interpreted in the context of non-sensory factors, which may explain significant inter- and intra-group variance in the dependent measure of interest

Effect of nanoencapsulation using PLGA on antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of guabiroba fruit phenolic extract.

Guabiroba fruit has been highlighted for its high phytochemical content, particularly of phenolic compounds. The stability, bioavailability, and bioactivity of these compounds can be enhanced by nanoencapsulation, to improve functionality. Poly (D,L-lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanoparticles containing phenolic extract of guabiroba (GPE) were synthesized by an adapted emulsion-evaporation method and their physico-chemical and functional properties were studied at two lactic to glycolic acid ratios (50:50 and 65:35). Higher (P < 0.05) or equivalent antioxidant capacity compared to free GPE were observed for GPE-loaded nanoparticles. Free extract and PLGA nanoparticles were effective inhibitors of Listeria innocua, with lower (P < 0.05) GPE concentrations required for inhibition when nanoencapsulated. Also, reduction of ROS generation in non-cancer cells was achieved with lower GPE concentrations (P < 0.05) after encapsulation. These results suggest that PLGA nanoparticles can be used as a delivery system for phenolic compounds at lower levels than originally required for enhanced functional properties

Thermoelectric materials and devices

New thermoelectric materials comprise highly [111]-oriented twinned group IV alloys on the basal plane of trigonal substrates, which exhibit a high thermoelectric figure of merit and good material performance, and devices made with these materials

A Component-oriented Framework for Autonomous Agents

The design of a complex system warrants a compositional methodology, i.e., composing simple components to obtain a larger system that exhibits their collective behavior in a meaningful way. We propose an automaton-based paradigm for compositional design of such systems where an action is accompanied by one or more preferences. At run-time, these preferences provide a natural fallback mechanism for the component, while at design-time they can be used to reason about the behavior of the component in an uncertain physical world. Using structures that tell us how to compose preferences and actions, we can compose formal representations of individual components or agents to obtain a representation of the composed system. We extend Linear Temporal Logic with two unary connectives that reflect the compositional structure of the actions, and show how it can be used to diagnose undesired behavior by tracing the falsification of a specification back to one or more culpable components

Measurement of gut permeability using fluorescent tracer agent technology

Abstract The healthy gut restricts macromolecular and bacterial movement across tight junctions, while increased intestinal permeability accompanies many intestinal disorders. Dual sugar absorption tests, which measure intestinal permeability in humans, present challenges. Therefore, we asked if enterally administered fluorescent tracers could ascertain mucosal integrity, because transcutaneous measurement of differentially absorbed molecules could enable specimen-free evaluation of permeability. We induced small bowel injury in rats using high- (15 mg/kg), intermediate- (10 mg/kg), and low- (5 mg/kg) dose indomethacin. Then, we compared urinary ratios of enterally administered fluorescent tracers MB-402 and MB-301 to urinary ratios of sugar tracers lactulose and rhamnose. We also tested the ability of transcutaneous sensors to measure the ratios of absorbed fluorophores. Urinary fluorophore and sugar ratios reflect gut injury in an indomethacin dose dependent manner. The fluorophores generated smooth curvilinear ratio trajectories with wide dynamic ranges. The more chaotic sugar ratios had narrower dynamic ranges. Fluorophore ratios measured through the skin distinguished indomethacin-challenged from same day control rats. Enterally administered fluorophores can identify intestinal injury in a rat model. Fluorophore ratios are measureable through the skin, obviating drawbacks of dual sugar absorption tests. Pending validation, this technology should be considered for human use

Differing instructional needs for children of similar reading achievement grades two, four, and six

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Temozolomide chronotherapy in patients with glioblastoma: A retrospective single-institute study

BACKGROUND: Chronotherapy is an innovative approach to improving survival through timed delivery of anti-cancer treatments according to patient daily rhythms. Temozolomide (TMZ) is a standard-of-care chemotherapeutic agent for glioblastoma (GBM). Whether timing of TMZ administration affects GBM patient outcome has not previously been studied. We sought to evaluate maintenance TMZ chronotherapy on GBM patient survival. METHODS: This retrospective study reviewed patients with newly diagnosed GBM from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2018 at Washington University School of Medicine who had surgery, chemoradiation, and were prescribed TMZ to be taken in the morning or evening. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression model were used for overall survival (OS) analyses. The propensity score method accounted for potential observational study biases. The restricted mean survival time (RMST) method was performed where the proportional hazard assumption was violated. RESULTS: We analyzed 166 eligible GBM patients with a median follow-up of 5.07 years. Patients taking morning TMZ exhibited longer OS compared to evening (median OS, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.43, 1.12-1.92 vs 1.13, 0.84-1.58 years) with a significant year 1 RMST difference (-0.09, 95% CI: -0.16 to -0.018). Among MGMT-methylated patients, median OS was 6 months longer for AM patients with significant RMST differences at years 1 (-0.13, 95% CI = -0.24 to -0.019) to 2.5 (-0.43, 95% CI = -0.84 to -0.028). Superiority of morning TMZ at years 1, 2, and 5 (all CONCLUSIONS: Our study presents preliminary evidence for the benefit of TMZ chronotherapy to GBM patient survival. This impact is more pronounced in MGMT-methylated patients