Supporting parent-child conversations in a history museum

BACKGROUND: Museums can serve as rich resources for families to learn about the social world through engagement with exhibits and parent-child conversation about exhibits. AIMS: This study examined ways of engaging parents and child about two related exhibits at a cultural and history museum. Sample participants consisted of families visiting the Animal Antics and the Gone Potty exhibits at the British Museum. METHODS: Whilst visiting two exhibits at the British Museum, 30 families were assigned to use a backpack of activities, 13 were assigned to a booklet of activities, and 15 were assigned to visit the exhibits without props (control condition). RESULTS: Compared to the families in the control condition, the interventions increased the amount of time parents and children engaged together with the exhibit. Additionally, recordings of the conversations revealed that adults asked more questions related to the exhibits when assigned to the two intervention conditions compared to the control group. Children engaged in more historical talk when using the booklets than in the other two conditions. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that providing support with either booklets or activities for children at exhibits may prove beneficial to parent-child conversations and engagement with museum exhibits

An actin-related protein in Drosophila colocalizes with heterochromatin protein 1 in pericentric heterochromatin

The actin-related proteins have been identified by virtue of their sequence similarity to actin. While their structures are thought to be closely homologous to actin, they exhibit a far greater range of functional diversity. We have localized the Drosophila actin-related protein, Arp4, to the nucleus. It is most abundant during embryogenesis but is expressed at all developmental stages. Within the nucleus Arp4 is primarily localized to the centric heterochromatin. Polytene chromosome spreads indicate it is also present at much lower levels in numerous euchromatic bands. The only other protein in Drosophila reported to be primarily localized to centric heterochromatin in polytene nuclei is heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1), which genetic evidence has linked to heterochromatin-mediated gene silencing and alterations in chromatin structure. The relationship between Arp4 and heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) was investigated by labeling embryos and larval tissues with antibodies to Arp4 and HP1. Arp4 and HP1 exhibit almost superimposable heterochromatin localization patterns, remain associated with the heterochromatin throughout prepupal development, and exhibit similar changes in localization during the cell cycle. Polytene chromosome spreads indicate that the set of euchromatic bands labeled by each antibody overlap but are not identical. Arp4 and HP1 in parallel undergo several shifts in their nuclear localization patterns during embryogenesis, shifts that correlate with developmental changes in nuclear functions. The significance of their colocalization was further tested by examining nuclei that express mutant forms of HP1. In these nuclei the localization patterns of HP1 and Arp4 are altered in parallel fashion. The morphological, developmental and genetic data suggest that, like HP1, Arp4 may have a role in heterochromatin functions. Keywords: Chromatin, Actin-related protein, Drosophila, Heterochromatin-protein 1, Position effect variegatio

Ternary Copper(II) Complexes in Solution Formed With 8-Aza Derivatives of the Antiviral Nucleotide Analogue 9-[2-(Phosphonomethoxy)Ethyl]adenine (PMEA)

The stability constants of the mixed-ligand complexes formed between Cu(Arm)2+, where Arm = 2,2′-bipyridine (Bpy) or 1,10-phenanthroline (Phen), and the dianions of 9-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]-8-azaadenine (9,8aPMEA) and 8-[2-(phosphonomethoxy)ethyl]8-azaadenine (8,8aPMEA) (both also abbreviated as PA2-) were determined by potentiometric pH titrations in aqueous solution (25 °C; I = 0.1 M, NaNO3). All four ternary Cu(Arm)(PA) complexes are considerably more stable than corresponding Cu(Arm)(R-PO3) species, where R-PO3 2- represents a phosph(on)ate ligand with a group R that is unable to participate in any kind of interaction within the complexes. The increased stability is attributed to intramolecular stack formation in the Cu(Arm)(PA) complexes and also to the formation of 5-membered chelates involving the ether oxygen present in the -CH2-O-CH2-PO3 2- residue of the azaPMEAs. A quantitative analysis of the intramolecular equilibria involving three structurally different Cu(Arm)(PA) species is carried out. For example, about 5% of the Cu(Bpy)(8,8aPMEA) system exist with the metal ion solely coordinated to the phosphonate group, 14% as a 5-membered chelate involving the -CH2-O-CH-2-PO3 2- residue, and 81% with an intramolecular stack between the 8-azapurine moiety and the aromatic rings of Bpy. The results for the other systems are similar though with Phen a formation degree of about 90% for the intramolecular stack is reached. The existence of the stacked species is also proven by spectrophotometric measurements. In addition, the Cu(Arm)(PA) complexes may be protonated, leading to Cu(Arm)(H;PA)+ species for which it is concluded that the proton is located at the phosphonate group and that the complexes are mainly formed by a stacking adduct between Cu(Arm)2+ and H(PA)-. Conclusions regarding the biological properties of these azaPMEAs are shortly indicated

The influence of liver dysfunction on cyclosporine pharmacokinetics -A comparison between 70 per cent hepatectomy and complete bile duct ligation in dogs-

The influence of experimentally induced hepatic dysfunction on the pharmacokinetics of Cyclosporine A (CsA) was determined in dogs. The pharmacokinetics of oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) CsA were studied before and after 70 per cent hepatectomy or complete bile duct ligation (CBDL). Changes in liver function were monitored by serial measurements of serum bilirubin, and by the maximum removal rate (Rmax) and plasma disappearance rate (ICG-K) of indocyanine green (ICG). Concentrations of CsA in whole blood were measured by HPLC. Seventy per cent hepatectomy caused significant liver dysfunction: the ICG-Rmax decreased by 47.7±7.1 per cent (mean±SD) and the ICG-K decreased by 61.3±9.7 per cent during the first week after hepatectomy. At the same time, the systemic clearance (CLs) of IV-CsA decreased by 43.9±8.2 per cent, the area under the concentration curve (AUC) of IV-CsA increased by 35.4±20.8 per cent and the bioavailability of CsA decreased by 26.4±14.8 per cent. CBDL also induced significant liver dysfunction: the ICG-Rmax decreased by 39.1±12.8 per cent and the ICG-K decreased by 65.6±3.6 per cent in the second week after the operation. During the same period, the AUC of PO-CsA decreased by 69.9±10.7 per cent and the bioavailability of CsA also decreased markedly by 73.9±15.6 per cent. These data indicate that hepatic impairment significantly influences the pharmacokinetics of CsA, not only by the changes in intestinal absorption, but also by those in hepatic, metabolism. Dose adjustment is therefore necessary in the presence of hepatic dysfunction in order to maintain an adequate blood concentration of CsA without causing side effects. © 1989 The Japan Surgical Society

Low-energy Pion-nucleon Scattering

This paper contains the results of an analysis of recent low-energy pion-nucleon scattering experiments. Obtained are phase shifts, the pion-nucleon coupling constant and an estimate of the Sigma term.Comment: 30 pages, 11 figures, LaTe

The differential contribution of maternal and paternal values to social competence of preschoolers

Multivariate analyses were conducted to clarify the nature of the influences of parental values on social behaviours of kindergarteners in the context of sociodemographic variables and sex of participants. This study included 217 mothers and 172 fathers from the same families, who completed a socio-demographic questionnaire and a new Q-sort that assesses parental values on Individualism (IND)/Collectivism (COL) and Horizontal (HOR)/Vertical (VER) continuums.To test the hypothesis of an association between parental values and children’s behaviours, teachers also provided information about each child’s social competence, anger-aggression, and anxiety-withdrawal in kindergarten using the Social Competence and Behavior Scale. Parents shared a greater proportion of IND/COL than VER values and mothers were more likely to emphasise IND and COL values than fathers. Mothers within IND and COL groups had more socially competent kindergartners as reported by teachers. Considering the mixed results found in the literature regarding sex differences in parenting and behaviours of children, the present results suggested that examining more closely the system of parental values might offer valuable avenues for uture research on early childhood socialisation

Influence of sediment characteristics on the composition of soft-sediment intertidal communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Benthic infaunal communities are important components of coastal ecosystems. Understanding the relationships between the structure of these communities and characteristics of the habitat in which they live is becoming progressively more important as coastal systems face increasing stress from anthropogenic impacts and changes in climate. To examine how sediment characteristics and infaunal community composition were related along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, we sampled intertidal infaunal communities at seven sites covering common habitat types at a regional scale. Across 69 samples, the communities clustered into four distinct groups on the basis of faunal composition. Nearly 70% of the variation in the composition of the communities was explained by salinity, median grain size, and total organic content. Our results suggest that at a regional level coarse habitat characteristics are able to explain a large amount of the variation among sites in infaunal community structure. By examining the relationships between infaunal communities and their sedimentary habitats, we take a necessary first step that will allow the exploration of how changes in habitat and community composition influence higher trophic levels and ecosystem scale processes.This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by the author(s) and published by PeerJ. The published article can be found at: https://peerj.com/.Keywords: Estuary, Habitat, Animal-sediment relationships, Community composition, Coastal ecolog

Divalent Metal Ions Tune the Self-Splicing Reaction of the Yeast Mitochondrial Group II Intron Sc.ai5γ

Group II introns are large ribozymes, consisting of six functionally distinct domains that assemble in the presence of Mg2+ to the active structure catalyzing a variety of reactions. The first step of intron splicing is well characterized by a Michaelis–Menten-type cleavage reaction using a two-piece group II intron: the substrate RNA, the 5′-exon covalently linked to domains 1, 2, and 3, is cleaved upon addition of domain 5 acting as a catalyst. Here we investigate the effect of Ca2+, Mn2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, and [Co(NH3)6]3+ on the first step of splicing of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitochondrial group II intron Sc.ai5γ. We find that this group II intron is very sensitive to the presence of divalent metal ions other than Mg2+. For example, the presence of only 5% Ca2+ relative to Mg2+ results in a decrease in the maximal turnover rate k cat by 50%. Ca2+ thereby has a twofold effect: this metal ion interferes initially with folding, but then also competes directly with Mg2+ in the folded state, the latter being indicative of at least one specific Ca2+ binding pocket interfering directly with catalysis. Similar results are obtained with Mn2+, Cd2+, and [Co(NH3)6]3+. Ni2+ is a much more powerful inhibitor and the presence of either Zn2+ or Pb2+ leads to rapid degradation of the RNA. These results show a surprising sensitivity of such a large multidomain RNA on trace amounts of cations other than Mg2+ and raises the question of biological relevance at least in the case of Ca2+

Breast-Lesion Characterization using Textural Features of Quantitative Ultrasound Parametric Maps

© 2017 The Author(s). This study evaluated, for the first time, the efficacy of quantitative ultrasound (QUS) spectral parametric maps in conjunction with texture-analysis techniques to differentiate non-invasively benign versus malignant breast lesions. Ultrasound B-mode images and radiofrequency data were acquired from 78 patients with suspicious breast lesions. QUS spectral-analysis techniques were performed on radiofrequency data to generate parametric maps of mid-band fit, spectral slope, spectral intercept, spacing among scatterers, average scatterer diameter, and average acoustic concentration. Texture-analysis techniques were applied to determine imaging biomarkers consisting of mean, contrast, correlation, energy and homogeneity features of parametric maps. These biomarkers were utilized to classify benign versus malignant lesions with leave-one-patient-out cross-validation. Results were compared to histopathology findings from biopsy specimens and radiology reports on MR images to evaluate the accuracy of technique. Among the biomarkers investigated, one mean-value parameter and 14 textural features demonstrated statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between the two lesion types. A hybrid biomarker developed using a stepwise feature selection method could classify the legions with a sensitivity of 96%, a specificity of 84%, and an AUC of 0.97. Findings from this study pave the way towards adapting novel QUS-based frameworks for breast cancer screening and rapid diagnosis in clinic