Methods to Improve the Reliability of the Functional Reach Test in Children and Adolescents With Typical Development

Purpose: Test-retest reliability of the Functional Reach Test was examined in children with typical development by comparing standard and alternate methods. Methods: Eighty subjects ages seven to 16 years were tested and 69 retested for four methods of Functional Reach Test (ie, one-arm finger-to-finger, two-arm finger-to-finger, one-arm toe-to-finger, and two-arm toe-to-finger). Intraclass correlation coefficients and limits of agreement were calculated. Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients were high in toe-to-finger measurement methods (0.97– 0.98) for the entire group and specific age groups (00.83–0.93). Toe-to-finger methods were more reliable than finger-to-finger methods. The two-arm toe-to-finger method had the best limis of agreement with approximately ±5 cm indicated by the 95% confidence interval. Conclusions: Test-retest reliability using a toe-to-finger method of measuring is stronger than previously reported when using traditional methods. Limits of agreement analyses imply a change of 5 cm or more is likely to represent a true clinical difference when using the two-arm toe-to-finger method

The role of term spread and pattern changes in predicting stock returns and volatility of the United Kingdom: Evidence from a nonparametric causality-in-quantiles test using over 250 years of data

Given the existence of nonlinear relationship between equity premium and term spread, as well as pattern changes and the interaction of pattern changes with the term-spread and changes in the shape of the yield curve, we use a nonparametric k-th order causality-in-quantiles test to predict the movement in excess returns and volatility based on changes in the shape of the yield curve. With the test applied to over 250 years of monthly data for the UK covering the period 1753:08 to 2017:02, we find that pattern changes and the interaction of pattern changes with the term-spread, besides the term spread itself, tends to also play an important role in predicting volatility at the upper end of its conditional distribution. In addition, the effect on excess returns from term spread, pattern changes and the interaction is found to have improved markedly over time, barring at the conditional median of the equity premium. Finally, comparisons are made with historical data of the US and South Africa, and implications of our results are discussed

Factors Affecting Functional Reach Scores in Youth with Typical Development

Purpose: Functional Reach Test scores were examined for the effects of traditional and alternate methods and subject characteristics. Methods: Eighty subjects aged 7 to 16 years were tested. Effects of measurement method (from finger-to-finger or from toe-to-finger) and style of reach (1 or 2 arms) were investigated. Five subject variables were analyzed for interactions among the methods and groups defined by subject characteristics. Results: Measurement method and style of reach showed a significant interaction. Interaction of method with subject characteristics was significant for age, height, and base of support only. Height groups by quartile were significantly different and scores increased with height, especially in toes-to-finger methods. Conclusions: Functional Reach Test scores were affected by method of reach and method of measurement. Height categories may be more useful when using the test for discriminative purposes, especially with toes-to-finger methods

Culturing of the first 37:4 predominant lacustrine haptophyte : geochemical, biochemical, and genetic implications

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2011. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 78 (2012): 51–64, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2011.11.024.Long chain alkenones (LCAs) are potential biomarkers for quantitative paleotemperature reconstructions from lacustrine environments. However, progress in this area has been severely hindered by the lack of culture studies of haptophytes responsible for alkenone distributions in lake sediments: the predominance of C37:4 LCA. Here we report the first enrichment culturing of a novel haptophyte phylotype (Hap-A) from Lake George, ND that produces predominantly C37:4-LCA. Hap-A was enriched from its resting phase collected from deep sediments rather than from water column samples. In contrast, enrichments from near surface water yielded a different haptophyte phylotype (Hap-B), closely related to Chrysotila lamellosa and Pseudoisochrysis paradoxa, which does not display C37:4-LCA predominance (similar enrichments have been reported previously). The LCA profile in sediments resembles that of Hap-A enrichments, suggesting that Hap-A is the dominant alkenone producer of the sedimentary LCAs. In enrichments, excess lighting appeared to be crucial for triggering blooms of Hap-A. Both and indices show a linear relationship with temperature for Hap-A in enrichments, but the relationship appears to be dependent on the growth stage. Based on 18S rRNA gene analyses, several lakes from the Northern Great Plains, as well as Pyramid Lake, NV and Tso Ur, Tibetan Plateau, China contain the same two haptophyte phylotypes. The Great Plains lakes show the Hap-A-type LCA distribution, whereas Pyramid and Tso Ur show the Hap-B type distribution. Waters of the Great Plain lakes are dominated by sulfate, whereas those Pyramid and Tso Ur are dominated by carbonate, suggesting that the sulfate to carbonate ratio may be a determining factor for the competitiveness of the Hap-A and Hap-B phylotypes in natural settings.This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation to Y. Huang (EAR06-02325) and a Brown University Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship to J. L. Toney

What doesn't kill you makes you stranger: Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (CD26) proteolysis differentially modulates the activity of many peptide hormones and cytokines generating novel cryptic bioactive ligands

Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is an exopeptidase found either on cell surfaces where it is highly regulated in terms of its expression and surface availability (CD26) or in a free/circulating soluble constitutively available and intrinsically active form. It is responsible for proteolytic cleavage of many peptide substrates. In this review we discuss the idea that DPP4-cleaved peptides are not necessarily inactivated, but rather can possess either a modified receptor selectivity, modified bioactivity, new antagonistic activity, or even a novel activity relative to the intact parent ligand. We examine in detail five different major DPP4 substrates: glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP), peptide tyrosine-tyrosine (PYY), and neuropeptide Y (NPY), and stromal derived factor 1 (SDF-1 aka CXCL12). We note that discussion of the cleaved forms of these five peptides are underrepresented in the research literature, and are both poorly investigated and poorly understood, representing a serious research literature gap. We believe they are understudied and misinterpreted as inactive due to several factors. This includes lack of accurate and specific quantification methods, sample collection techniques that are inherently inaccurate and inappropriate, and a general perception that DPP4 cleavage inactivates its ligand substrates. Increasing evidence points towards many DPP4-cleaved ligands having their own bioactivity. For example, GLP-1 can work through a different receptor than GLP-1R, DPP4-cleaved GIP can function as a GIP receptor antagonist at high doses, and DPP4-cleaved PYY, NPY, and CXCL12 can have different receptor selectivity, or can bind novel, previously unrecognized receptors to their intact ligands, resulting in altered signaling and functionality. We believe that more rigorous research in this area could lead to a better understanding of DPP4’s role and the biological importance of the generation of novel cryptic ligands. This will also significantly impact our understanding of the clinical effects and side effects of DPP4-inhibitors as a class of anti-diabetic drugs that potentially have an expanding clinical relevance. This will be specifically relevant in targeting DPP4 substrate ligands involved in a variety of other major clinical acute and chronic injury/disease areas including inflammation, immunology, cardiology, stroke, musculoskeletal disease and injury, as well as cancer biology and tissue maintenance in aging

Prospectus, February 23, 2005

https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2005/1005/thumbnail.jp

A long‑term precision agriculture system sustains grain profitability

After two decades of availability of grain yield-mapping technology, long-term trends in field-scale profitability for precision agriculture (PA) systems and conservation practices can now be assessed. Field-scale profitability of a conventional or ‘business-as-usual’ system with an annual corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max [L.]) rotation and annual tillage was assessed for 11 years on a 36 ha field in central Missouri during 1993 to 2003. Following this, a ‘precision agriculture system’ (PAS) with conservation practices was implemented for the next 11 years to address production, profit and environmental concerns. The PAS was multifaceted and temporally dynamic. It included no-till, cover crops, crop rotation changes, site-specific N and variable-rate or zonal P, K and lime. Following a recent evaluation of differences in yield and yield variability, this research compared profitability of the two systems. Results indicated that PAS sustained profits in the majority (97%) of the field without subsidies for cover crops or payments for enhanced environmental protection. Profit was only lower with PAS in a drainage channel where no-till sometimes hindered soybean stands and wet soils caused wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) disease. Although profit gains were not realized after 11 years of PA and conservation practices, this system sustained profits. These results should help growers gain confidence that PA and conservation practices will be successful

Enhanced cortical neural stem cell identity through short SMAD and WNT inhibition in human cerebral organoids facilitates emergence of outer radial glial cells

Cerebral organoids exhibit broad regional heterogeneity accompanied by limited cortical cellular diversity despite the tremendous upsurge in derivation methods, suggesting inadequate patterning of early neural stem cells (NSCs). Here we show that a short and early Dual SMAD and WNT inhibition course is necessary and sufficient to establish robust and lasting cortical organoid NSC identity, efficiently suppressing non-cortical NSC fates, while other widely used methods are inconsistent in their cortical NSC-specification capacity. Accordingly, this method selectively enriches for outer radial glia NSCs, which cyto-architecturally demarcate well-defined outer sub-ventricular-like regions propagating from superiorly radially organized, apical cortical rosette NSCs. Finally, this method culminates in the emergence of molecularly distinct deep and upper cortical layer neurons, and reliably uncovers cortex-specific microcephaly defects. Thus, a short SMAD and WNT inhibition is critical for establishing a rich cortical cell repertoire that enables mirroring of fundamental molecular and cyto-architectural features of cortical development and meaningful disease modelling

Particle tracer transport in a sloping soil lysimeter under periodic, steady state conditions

Colloid transport through complex and dynamic (i.e. non-steady-state) hydrologic systems is rarely studied, owing to the difficulty of constraining initial and boundary conditions and quantifying colloid-porous media and colloid-colloid interactions in transient flow systems. Here we present a particle tracer experiment conducted on a sloped lysimeter receiving periodic rainfall events for 10 days. Four unique, DNA-labelled particle tracers were injected both in sequence and in parallel, together with a conservative tracer (deuterium), over the course of the first day and allowed to move through the system. Discharge-particle tracer concentration curves and the spatial distribution of particle tracer mass retained in the soil at the end of the experiment were found to be highly dependent on the timing of the tracer injection and the precipitation input and subsequent dynamic response of the water table. Overall, neglecting the total DLT recovery rate, the DLT particle tracer breakthrough trend (DNA-labelled particle tracer 4) was similar to deuterium and decreased over time with the exception of a few peaks later in the experiment. The individual particle tracer breakthrough curves suggest a complex system with different fast transport mechanisms (e.g. capillary barrier and size exclusion effect) and slow retention-release mechanisms (e.g. straining, physical-chemical adsorption), which resulted in particle tracers transferring faster than deuterium in the first 10 h of the experiment but being exceeded by deuterium soon after deuterium started to break through. The experiment not only highlights the interaction of repeated colloidal pollution events in hydrologic systems with different pre-event saturation conditions, but also the benefits of using multiple synchronous or sequential tracer applications to dissect explicit formulations of water flow and colloid transport processes in complex and dynamic hydrological systems. Such explicit process formulations could help improve understanding hydrologically-controlled transport through catchments and the quantitative prediction of these processes with water quality models

Simultaneous Effects of Light Intensity and Phosphorus Supply on the Sterol Content of Phytoplankton

Sterol profiles of microalgae and their change with environmental conditions are of great interest in ecological food web research and taxonomic studies alike. Here, we investigated effects of light intensity and phosphorus supply on the sterol content of phytoplankton and assessed potential interactive effects of these important environmental factors on the sterol composition of algae. We identified sterol contents of four common phytoplankton genera, Scenedesmus, Chlamydomonas, Cryptomonas and Cyclotella, and analysed the change in sterol content with varying light intensities in both a high-phosphorus and a low-phosphorus approach. Sterol contents increased significantly with increasing light in three out of four species. Phosphorus-limitation reversed the change of sterol content with light intensity, i.e., sterol content decreased with increasing light at low phosphorus supply. Generally sterol contents were lower in low-phosphorus cultures. In conclusion, both light and phosphorus conditions strongly affect the sterol composition of algae and hence should be considered in ecological and taxonomic studies investigating the biochemical composition of algae. Data suggest a possible sterol limitation of growth and reproduction of herbivorous crustacean zooplankton during summer when high light intensities and low phosphorus supply decrease sterol contents of algae