Moyo Vol. V N 2

Fiden, Dan. The Almighty Dollar (Why Our Student Government Scares the Shit Out Of Me) . 2. Fair, Adrienne. From Toulouse-Lautrec to Tabatha Gash (A Look at Prostitution in Paris . 4 Kellie, Megan. Mommy, What is a Caucus? (Three Days in the Life of a Republican). 8. Fiden, Dan. Denison\u27s Red-Headed Stepchild (An interview with Ann Magnuson) . 10. Kahlenberg, Michelle. Dorm, Sweet Dorm (Where The Hell Can I Live Next Year?) . 14. Moncrief, Lyn. From Socialism to Santeria (An American Experiences Life in Cuba) . 16

Altered Cortico-Striatal–Thalamic Connectivity in Relation to Spatial Working Memory Capacity in Children with ADHD

Introduction: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) captures a heterogeneous group of children, who are characterized by a range of cognitive and behavioral symptoms. Previous resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI) studies have sought to understand the neural correlates of ADHD by comparing connectivity measurements between those with and without the disorder, focusing primarily on cortical–striatal circuits mediated by the thalamus. To integrate the multiple phenotypic features associated with ADHD and help resolve its heterogeneity, it is helpful to determine how specific circuits relate to unique cognitive domains of the ADHD syndrome. Spatial working memory has been proposed as a key mechanism in the pathophysiology of ADHD. Methods: We correlated the rs-fcMRI of five thalamic regions of interest (ROIs) with spatial span working memory scores in a sample of 67 children aged 7–11 years [ADHD and typically developing children (TDC)]. In an independent dataset, we then examined group differences in thalamo-striatal functional connectivity between 70 ADHD and 89 TDC (7–11 years) from the ADHD-200 dataset. Thalamic ROIs were created based on previous methods that utilize known thalamo-cortical loops and rs-fcMRI to identify functional boundaries in the thalamus. Results/Conclusion: Using these thalamic regions, we found atypical rs-fcMRI between specific thalamic groupings with the basal ganglia. To identify the thalamic connections that relate to spatial working memory in ADHD, only connections identified in both the correlational and comparative analyses were considered. Multiple connections between the thalamus and basal ganglia, particularly between medial and anterior dorsal thalamus and the putamen, were related to spatial working memory and also altered in ADHD. These thalamo-striatal disruptions may be one of multiple atypical neural and cognitive mechanisms that relate to the ADHD clinical phenotype

Aging brain from a network science perspective: Something to be positive about?

To better understand age differences in brain function and behavior, the current study applied network science to model functional interactions between brain regions. We observed a shift in network topology whereby for older adults subcortical and cerebellar structures overlapping with the Salience network had more connectivity to the rest of the brain, coupled with fragmentation of large-scale cortical networks such as the Default and Fronto-Parietal networks. Additionally, greater integration of the dorsal medial thalamus and red nucleus in the Salience network was associated with greater satisfaction with life for older adults, which is consistent with theoretical predictions of age-related increases in emotion regulation that are thought to help maintain well-being and life satisfaction in late adulthood. In regard to cognitive abilities, greater ventral medial prefrontal cortex coherence with its topological neighbors in the Default Network was associated with faster processing speed. Results suggest that large-scale organizing properties of the brain differ with normal aging, and this perspective may offer novel insight into understanding age-related differences in cognitive function and well-being. © 2013 Voss et al

Adjunctive rifampicin for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (ARREST): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is a common cause of severe community-acquired and hospital-acquired infection worldwide. We tested the hypothesis that adjunctive rifampicin would reduce bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death, by enhancing early S aureus killing, sterilising infected foci and blood faster, and reducing risks of dissemination and metastatic infection. METHODS: In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults (≥18 years) with S aureus bacteraemia who had received ≤96 h of active antibiotic therapy were recruited from 29 UK hospitals. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a computer-generated sequential randomisation list to receive 2 weeks of adjunctive rifampicin (600 mg or 900 mg per day according to weight, oral or intravenous) versus identical placebo, together with standard antibiotic therapy. Randomisation was stratified by centre. Patients, investigators, and those caring for the patients were masked to group allocation. The primary outcome was time to bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death (all-cause), from randomisation to 12 weeks, adjudicated by an independent review committee masked to the treatment. Analysis was intention to treat. This trial was registered, number ISRCTN37666216, and is closed to new participants. FINDINGS: Between Dec 10, 2012, and Oct 25, 2016, 758 eligible participants were randomly assigned: 370 to rifampicin and 388 to placebo. 485 (64%) participants had community-acquired S aureus infections, and 132 (17%) had nosocomial S aureus infections. 47 (6%) had meticillin-resistant infections. 301 (40%) participants had an initial deep infection focus. Standard antibiotics were given for 29 (IQR 18-45) days; 619 (82%) participants received flucloxacillin. By week 12, 62 (17%) of participants who received rifampicin versus 71 (18%) who received placebo experienced treatment failure or disease recurrence, or died (absolute risk difference -1·4%, 95% CI -7·0 to 4·3; hazard ratio 0·96, 0·68-1·35, p=0·81). From randomisation to 12 weeks, no evidence of differences in serious (p=0·17) or grade 3-4 (p=0·36) adverse events were observed; however, 63 (17%) participants in the rifampicin group versus 39 (10%) in the placebo group had antibiotic or trial drug-modifying adverse events (p=0·004), and 24 (6%) versus six (2%) had drug interactions (p=0·0005). INTERPRETATION: Adjunctive rifampicin provided no overall benefit over standard antibiotic therapy in adults with S aureus bacteraemia. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment

College Students 1 * * IN THE CLASSROOM AND BEYOND * * Research Team:

The purpose of this assignment was to investigate how current college students feel about their college experience in order to gain a better understanding of the American college student. As a class, we decided to concentrate on six interview questions

PhD Scoping Review: Exploring the connection between mindfulness, student wellbeing, and learning outcomes in higher education, a scoping review protocol.

Exploring the connection between mindfulness, student wellbeing, and learning outcomes in higher education, a scoping review protocol

High imputation accuracy from informative low-to-medium density single nucleotide polymorphism genotypes is achievable in sheep

The objective of the present study was to quantify the accuracy of imputing medium-density single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotypes from lower-density panels (384 to 12,000 SNPs) derived using alternative selection methods to select the most informative SNPs. Four different selection methods were used to select SNPs based on genomic characteristics (i.e., minor allele frequency (MAF) and linkage disequilibrium (LD)) within five sheep breeds (642 Belclare, 645 Charollais, 715 Suffolk, 440 Texel, and 620 Vendeen) separately. Selection methods evaluated included (i) random, (ii) splitting the genome into blocks of equal length and selecting SNPs within block based on MAF and LD patterns, (iii) equidistant location while optimizing MAF, (iv) a combination of MAF, distance from already selected SNPs, and weak LD with the SNP(s) already selected. All animals were genotyped on the Illumina OvineSNP50 Beadchip containing 51,135 SNPs of which 44,040 remained after edits. Within each breed separately, the youngest 100 animals were assumed to represent the validation population; the remaining animals represented the reference population. Imputation was undertaken under three different conditions: (i) SNPs were selected within a given breed and imputed for all breeds individually, (ii) all breeds were collectively used to select SNPs and were included as the reference population, and (iii) the SNPs were selected for each breed separately and imputation was undertaken for all breeds but excluding from the reference population, the breed from which the SNPs were selected. Regardless of SNP selection method, mean animal allele concordance rate improved at a diminishing rate while the variability in mean animal allele concordance rate reduced as the panel density increased. The SNP selection method impacted the accuracy of imputation although the effect reduced as the density of the panel increased. Overall, the most accurate SNP selection method for panels with <9,000 SNPs was that based on MAF and LD pattern within genomic blocks. The mean animal allele concordance rate varied from 0.89 in Texel to 0.97 in Vendeen. Greater imputation accuracy was achieved when SNPs were selected and imputed within each breed individually compared with when SNPs were selected across all breeds and imputed using a multi-breed reference population. In all, results indicate that accurate genotype imputation to medium density is achievable with low-density genotype panels with at least 6,000 SNP