Spelling in adolescents with dyslexia: errors and modes of assessment

In this study we focused on the spelling of high-functioning students with dyslexia. We made a detailed classification of the errors in a word and sentence dictation task made by 100 students with dyslexia and 100 matched control students. All participants were in the first year of their bachelor’s studies and had Dutch as mother tongue. Three main error categories were distinguished: phonological, orthographic, and grammatical errors (on the basis of morphology and language-specific spelling rules). The results indicated that higher-education students with dyslexia made on average twice as many spelling errors as the controls, with effect sizes of d ≥ 2. When the errors were classified as phonological, orthographic, or grammatical, we found a slight dominance of phonological errors in students with dyslexia. Sentence dictation did not provide more information than word dictation in the correct classification of students with and without dyslexia

Inhibition of IGF-I Receptor Signaling in Combination with Rapamycin or Temsirolimus Increases MYC-N Phosphorylation

BACKGROUND: It has been previously shown that blockade of the type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF1R) signaling combined with mTOR inhibition decreased neuroblastoma proliferation in vitro. MYC-N inactivation occurs through phosphorylation by downstream elements of the IGF1R signaling pathway. It was hypothesized that inhibition of IGF1R signaling would increase the inactivation of MYC-N. MATERIALS AND METHODS: BE-2(c) and IMR-32 neuroblastoma cell lines were treated with varying concentrations of alphaIR3, rapamycin and temsirolimus either alone or in combination and the expression of MYC-N and phosphorylated MYC-N proteins were evaluated by Western blotting. The number of apoptotic cells was evaluated through cleaved caspase-3 expression. RESULTS: IGF1R signaling blockade in combination with mTOR inhibition decreased MYC-N protein expression, increased MYC-N phosphorylation and significantly increased cleaved caspase-3 expression in treated cells. CONCLUSION: The combination of rapamycin or temsirolimus with alphaIR3 decreases MYC-N expression, increases MYC-N phosphorylation and induces apoptosis in vitro which may have clinical relevance to children with neuroblastoma

Basic design and simulation of a SPECT microscope for in vivo stem cell imaging

The need to understand the behavior of individual stem cells at the various stages of their differentiation and to assess the resulting reparative action in pre-clinical model systems, which typically involves laboratory animals, provides the motivation for imaging of stem cells in vivo at high resolution. Our initial focus is to image cells and cellular events at single cell resolution in vivo in shallow tissues (few mm of intervening tissue) in laboratory mice and rates. In order to accomplish this goal we are building a SPECT-based microscope. We based our design on earlier theoretical work with near-field coded apertures and have adjusted the components of the system to meet the real-world demands of instrument construction and of animal imaging. Our instrumental design possesses a reasonable trade-off between field-of-view, sensitivity, and contrast performance (photon penetration). A layered gold aperture containing 100 pinholes and intended for use in coded aperture imaging application has been designed and constructed. A silicon detector connected to a TimePix readout from the CERN collaborative group was selected for use in our prototype microscope because of its ultra-high spatial and energy resolution capabilities. The combination of the source, aperture, and detector has been modeled and the coded aperture reconstruction of simulated sources is presented in this work

Microwave and Physical Electronics

Contains reports on six research projects.Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD) OEMsr-26

Microwave and Physical Electronics

Contains reports on seven research projects

Microwave and Physical Electronics

Contains reports on six research projects

Developing Clinical Strength-of-Evidence Approach to Define HIV-Associated Malignancies for Cancer Registration in Kenya

Background Sub-Saharan Africa cancer registries are beset by an increasing cancer burden further exacerbated by the AIDS epidemic where there are limited capabilities for cancer-AIDS match co-registration. We undertook a pilot study based on a “strength-of-evidence” approach using clinical data that is abstracted at the time of cancer registration for purposes of linking cancer diagnosis to AIDS diagnosis. Methods/Findings The standard Nairobi Cancer Registry form was modified for registrars to abstract the following clinical data from medical records regarding HIV infection/AIDS in a hierarchal approach at time of cancer registration from highest-to-lowest strength-of-evidence: 1) documentation of positive HIV serology; 2) antiretroviral drug prescription; 3) CD4+ lymphocyte count; and 4) WHO HIV clinical stage or immune suppression syndrome (ISS), which is Kenyan terminology for AIDS. Between August 1 and October 31, 2011 a total of 1,200 cancer cases were registered. Of these, 171 cases (14.3%) met clinical strength-of-evidence criteria for association with HIV infection/AIDS; 69% (118 cases were tumor types with known HIV association – Kaposi’s sarcoma, cervical cancer, non-Hodgkin’s and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and conjunctiva carcinoma) and 31% (53) were consistent with non-AIDS defining cancers. Verifiable positive HIV serology was identified in 47 (27%) cases for an absolute seroprevalence rate of 4% among the cancer registered cases with an upper boundary of 14% among those meeting at least one of strength-of-evidence criteria. Conclusions/Significance This pilot demonstration of a hierarchal, clinical strength-of-evidence approach for cancer-AIDS registration in Kenya establishes feasibility, is readily adaptable, pragmatic, and does not require additional resources for critically under staffed cancer registries. Cancer is an emerging public health challenge, and African nations need to develop well designed population-based studies in order to better define the impact and spectrum of malignant disease in the backdrop of HIV infection

Tube Research and Development

Contains reports on three research projects

Microwave and Physical Electronics

Contains reports on seven research projects