Testing single‐ and dual‐route computational models of auditory repetition with new data from six aphasic patients

Background: Deficits in the production of complex structures have been widely documented in non-fluent forms of aphasia. Nevertheless, the data available on fluent deficits are scarcer. In both cases, reduced complexity is attributed to syntactic factors. In the related field of syntactic theory, there exist a number of studies on the production of non-brain damaged (NBD) subjects which try to account for the existence of two alternative constructions in embedded complement clauses in English (as in I think that the situation will improve/I think the situation will improve). The absence of that in the embedded clauses of verbs like say, know or think in colloquial English is very frequent and this suggests that verbs of this type may select a clause lacking a complementiser phrase (CP) layer, namely tense phrase (TP). The presence of that is taken to be the result of insertion, which is triggered by cues associated to contextual factors like register.

Aims: To compare the presence and absence of the complementiser that in the speech of English subjects diagnosed with aphasia with the same phenomenon in NBD subjects with the objective of clarifying the nature of the phenomenon of that-omission.

Methods &; Procedures: We carried out an analysis of spontaneous speech that included the performance of 200 individuals brought together by the AphasiaBank project. Two groups were included in the study, an experimental group comprising 100 individuals diagnosed as aphasic according to the standards of the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB), and a control group including 100 non-brain damaged control subjects ( NBDs).

Outcomes &; Results: This study shows that the asymmetries across populations (NBDs vs. subjects with aphasia) are restricted to the number of occurrences of subordinate clauses. NBD subjects produce more embeddings than subjects diagnosed with fluent aphasia (although they do produce embedded clauses and crucially prefer the “omission” option) and subjects with non-fluent aphasia.

Conclusions: Our results confirm the findings on fluent aphasias as for the presence of deficits with complex constructions. These results may be regarded as evidence for the claim that TP is the default selection for the verbs analysed.     

The Actin‐Binding Protein Cofilin and Its Interaction With Cortactin Are Required for Podosome Patterning in Osteoclasts and Bone Resorption In Vivo and In Vitro

The adhesion of osteoclasts (OCs) to bone and bone resorption require the assembly of specific F‐actin adhesion structures, the podosomes, and their dense packing into a sealing zone. The OC‐specific formation of the sealing zone requires the interaction of microtubule (MT) + ends with podosomes. Here, we deleted cofilin, a cortactin (CTTN)‐ and actin‐binding protein highly expressed in OCs, to determine if it acts downstream of the MT‐CTTN axis to regulate actin polymerization in podosomes. Conditional deletion of cofilin in OCs in mice, driven by the cathepsin K promoter (Ctsk‐Cre), impaired bone resorption in vivo, increasing bone density. In vitro, OCs were not able to organize podosomes into peripheral belts. The MT network was disorganized, MT stability was decreased, and cell migration impaired. Active cofilin stabilizes MTs and allows podosome belt formation, whereas MT disruption deactivates cofilin via phosphorylation. Cofilin interacts with CTTN in podosomes and phosphorylation of either protein disrupts this interaction, which is critical for belt stabilization and for the maintenance of MT dynamic instability. Accordingly, active cofilin was required to rescue the OC cytoskeletal phenotype in vitro. These findings suggest that the patterning of podosomes into a sealing zone involves the dynamic interaction between cofilin, CTTN, and the MTs + ends. This interaction is critical for the functional organization of OCs and for bone resorption. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.     

Effects of social and spatial contexts on young latinas’ methamphetamine use initiation

ABSTRACT

In this article, we examine methamphetamine (meth) use initiation as influenced by Latinas’ social positions within institutions (e.g., family and economy). We conducted ethnographic fieldwork in five women’s residential substance use treatment facilities in Los Angeles County with women who considered meth to be their primary drug of choice. Using an urban ethnographic framing, we demonstrate the effects of low-income young Latinas’ spatial- and social-context rendered vulnerability to abuse and neglect, and the resulting emotional distress, on meth use initiation. When considering pathways to substance use intervention for vulnerable Latina girls and women, clinicians, researchers, and policy makers need to understand substance use pathways as dynamic processes to cope with psychosocial stress while living in communities with easy access to illicit substances such as methamphetamine.     

ASO Visual Abstract: Iterative Cytoreduction and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy for Recurrent Mucinous Adenocarcinoma of the Appendix

Annals of Surgical Oncology -     

Bayesian Approach to Estimate AUC,Partition Coefficient and Drug Targeting Index for Studies with Serial Sacrifice Design

Purpose

The current study presents a Bayesian approach to non-compartmental analysis (NCA), which provides the accurate and precise estimate of AUC ₀ ^∞ and any AUC ₀ ^∞ -based NCA parameter or derivation.

Methods

In order to assess the performance of the proposed method, 1,000 simulated datasets were generated in different scenarios. A Bayesian method was used to estimate the tissue and plasma AUC ₀ ^∞ s and the tissue-to-plasma AUC ₀ ^∞ ratio. The posterior medians and the coverage of 95% credible intervals for the true parameter values were examined. The method was applied to laboratory data from a mice brain distribution study with serial sacrifice design for illustration.

Results

Bayesian NCA approach is accurate and precise in point estimation of the AUC ₀ ^∞ and the partition coefficient under a serial sacrifice design. It also provides a consistently good variance estimate, even considering the variability of the data and the physiological structure of the pharmacokinetic model. The application in the case study obtained a physiologically reasonable posterior distribution of AUC, with a posterior median close to the value estimated by classic Bailer-type methods.

Conclusions

This Bayesian NCA approach for sparse data analysis provides statistical inference on the variability of AUC ₀ ^∞ -based parameters such as partition coefficient and drug targeting index, so that the comparison of these parameters following destructive sampling becomes statistically feasible.     

Repair of a Cracked Historic Maryan Bell by Gas Welding

In this article, the range of works connected with the repair of a historical Maryan bell from 1639 are presented. The first attempts to repair damaged bells occurred in the 1930s in Poland. However, this process was stopped because of extensive technological difficulties. Welding and soldering-welding were the basic methods. There is one difference between these two methods—connecting surfaces are melted during the welding process but only heated until the melting temperature of the material added to the connection (that is the solder) during the soldering-welding process. It was important to heat the bell to the proper temperature during welding. Uneven heating causes the enlargement of existing cracks or the appearance of new ones, or even the complete destruction of the bell. Nowadays, a method of even heating using a special heating mat has been devised. Thanks to this method it is possible to control the heating and cooling process. The most important task during the whole operation of bell welding was obtaining the original sound. During this research, the chemical composition was examined to prepare a welding rod with a suitable chemical composition. After the repair process, an analysis of the sound of the bell was conducted. It was shown that the repair of bells is possible when correct thermal parameters are used. The most highly recommended technique for repairing bells is gas welding.