The Composition of Human Milk and Infant Faecal Microbiota Over the First Three Months of Life: A Pilot Study

peer-reviewedHuman milk contains a diverse array of bioactives and is also a source of bacteria for the developing infant gut. The aim of this study was to characterize the bacterial communities in human milk and infant faeces over the first 3 months of life, in 10 mother-infant pairs. The presence of viable Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus in human milk was also evaluated. MiSeq sequencing revealed a large diversity of the human milk microbiota, identifying over 207 bacterial genera in milk samples. The phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes and the genera Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus were the predominant bacterial groups. A core of 12 genera represented 81% of the microbiota relative abundance in milk samples at week 1, 3 and 6, decreasing to 73% at week 12. Genera shared between infant faeces and human milk samples accounted for 70–88% of the total relative abundance in infant faecal samples, supporting the hypothesis of vertical transfer of bacteria from milk to the infant gut. In addition, identical strains of Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus plantarum were isolated from the milk and faeces of one mother-infant pair. Vertical transfer of bacteria via breastfeeding may contribute to the initial establishment of the microbiota in the developing infant intestine

Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of a specialist and a generic parenting programme for the treatment of preschool ADHD

BACKGROUND: The New Forest Parenting Programme (NFPP) is a home-delivered, evidence-based parenting programme to target symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschool children. It has been adapted for use with 'hard-to-reach' or 'difficult-to-treat' children. This trial will compare the adapted-NFPP with a generic parenting group-based programme, Incredible Years (IY), which has been recommended for children with preschool-type ADHD symptoms.METHODS/DESIGN: This multicentre randomized controlled trial comprises three arms: adapted-NFPP, IY and treatment as usual (TAU). A sample of 329 parents of preschool-aged children with a research diagnosis of ADHD enriched for hard-to-reach and potentially treatment-resistant children will be allocated to the arms in the ratio 3:3:1. Participants in the adapted-NFPP and IY arms receive an induction visit followed by 12 weekly parenting sessions of 1½ hours (adapted-NFPP) or 2½ hours (IY) over 2.5 years. Adapted-NFPP will be delivered as a one-to-one home-based intervention; IY, as a group-based intervention. TAU participants are offered a parenting programme at the end of the study. The primary objective is to test whether the adapted-NFPP produces beneficial effects in terms of core ADHD symptoms. Secondary objectives include examination of the treatment impact on secondary outcomes, a study of cost-effectiveness and examination of the mediating role of treatment-induced changes in parenting behaviour and neuropsychological function. The primary outcome is change in ADHD symptoms, as measured by the parent-completed version of the SNAP-IV questionnaire, adjusted for pretreatment SNAP-IV score. Secondary outcome measures are: a validated index of behaviour during child's solo play; teacher-reported SNAP-IV (ADHD scale); teacher and parent SNAP-IV (ODD) Scale; Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory - Oppositional Defiant Disorder scale; Revised Client Service Receipt Inventory - Health Economics Costs measure and EuroQol (EQ5D) health-related quality-of-life measure. Follow-up measures will be collected 6 months after treatment for participants allocated to adapted-NFPP and IY.DISCUSSION: This trial will provide evidence as to whether the adapted-NFPP is more effective and cost-effective than the recommended treatment and TAU. It will also provide information about mediating factors (improved parenting and neuropsychological function) and moderating factors (parent and child genetic factors) in any increased benefit.TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN39288126.</p

ONE, NOUN STRUCTURE, AND MODIFICATION

PhDThe present thesis aims to use novel observations as to the behaviour of anaphoric one when under modi cation in order to explore more acutely the structure of the nominal phrase. There has been decades of disagreement as to the syntactic nature of anaphoric one. This work highlights novel observations about anaphoric one and offers structural analyses for them. Anaphoric one behaves in a markedly distinct way when modified by a prenominal modi er versus when it is modified by a postnominal modifier. Specifically the indefinite article, numerals, and certain quantifiers are able to be introduced into the structure of the noun phrase only when anaphoric one is modified prenominally. In such cases that is modi ed postnominally the introduction of such material is not possible. Rather than appealing to rich featural specifications on syntactic objects by way of explanation this thesis offers an account based upon the structure of the nominal. An obligatory movement operation in the nominal projection is proposed, the result of which produces a structural configuration which limits extraction from the moved constituent. It is the two of these factors working together that produces the pattern of behaviour to be captured. Finally I present phenomena that can be found in Spanish, Dutch, Turkish, and Slovenian which can be easily captured using the structural analysis offered in this work. The suggestion being that all of these languages exhibit not only the same movement operation in the nominal projection, but the same limit on what may be extracted from the moved constituent.AHR

The Reduced Relative Clause: A Misnomer?

Abstract In this paper I argue that the term reduced relative is a misnomer. 1 I will begin by discussing the origins of the term, and the analysis that it suggests. Then I will look at the shortcomings of that analysis and describe an alternative analysis. The alternative analysis will require that there be an absence of the types of structure that are essential to relative clauses. I will also describe what may and may not be found within reduced relative clauses. Based upon all of this I will conclude that the term reduced relative clause is indeed a misnomer

Beyond Mercury: How the Fine Print of the Bush Administration Plan Means More Dioxin, Lead and Other Toxic Air Pollution

Provides a look at power plant emissions data, adverse health effects of toxic air pollution, current technology available to clean up toxic air emissions, and the debate over regulating mercury pollution

The role of the human papillomavirus (HPV) in cervical cancer : a review about HPV-induced carcinogenesis and its epidemiology, diagnosis, management and prevention

The human papillomavirus (HPV) was the first virus known to induce carcinogenesis and is associated with cancers of the uterine cervix, anogenital tumors and malignancies of the head and neck. This paper reviews the structure and basic genomic characteristics of the virus and outlines the clinical involvement of the main HPV serotypes, focusing on the carcinogenic role of HPV-16 and 18. The mecha¬nisms that occur in the development of cervical neoplasia due to the oncogenic proteins E6 and E7 which interfere with the regulation of the cell cycle through their interaction with p53 and retinoblastoma protein are described. Epidemiological factors, diagnostic tools and the management of the disease are also reviewed, along with the available vaccines to prevent the viral infection. Insights on current research on involvement of oxidative stress and micro-RNAs in cervical carcinogenesis are also explored as they may unlock new means of diagnosis and treatment in the future.peer-reviewe

North: Volume Two

North Volume Two reflects our belief in photography as a relevant tool for exploring our ever-changing world. Whether in Preston, Liverpool, Berlin or Guangzhou the image-makers create a conversation with contemporary life as they endeavour to make their surroundings legible. In this second edition we continue North in the streets and spaces of the city. From contested sites of demolition, to new imaginaries formulated in the studio and in domestic, digital and social space, the volume is testament to how the urban endures as one of photography’s perennial objects of study. Like the first edition, We aim to highlight our commitment to everyday life as a meaningful arena for research and cultural production

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN

Spatial Organization and Molecular Correlation of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Deep Learning on Pathology Images

Beyond sample curation and basic pathologic characterization, the digitized H&E-stained images of TCGA samples remain underutilized. To highlight this resource, we present mappings of tumorinfiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) based on H&E images from 13 TCGA tumor types. These TIL maps are derived through computational staining using a convolutional neural network trained to classify patches of images. Affinity propagation revealed local spatial structure in TIL patterns and correlation with overall survival. TIL map structural patterns were grouped using standard histopathological parameters. These patterns are enriched in particular T cell subpopulations derived from molecular measures. TIL densities and spatial structure were differentially enriched among tumor types, immune subtypes, and tumor molecular subtypes, implying that spatial infiltrate state could reflect particular tumor cell aberration states. Obtaining spatial lymphocytic patterns linked to the rich genomic characterization of TCGA samples demonstrates one use for the TCGA image archives with insights into the tumor-immune microenvironment

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts