Classroom-based assessment: validation for the school AMPS.

The role of the occupational therapist working in the school system is to facilitate a student's task performance or ability to do purposeful and meaningful activities so that the student benefits from the educational experience. To fulfill this role, occupational therapists need assessments that address functional performance issues in the classroom and provide information for effective programming and consultation. The School Version of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (School AMPS) is an observational evaluation of functional skills in the classroom. Common classroom activities are observed to assess a child's school motor and school process skills. This study examined the validity of the School AMPS by comparing it to the Peabody Developmental Motor Scale-Fine Motor (PDMS-FM), a common assessment used in local area school districts in Edmonton, Alberta. Results show a higher correlation of the PDMS-FM with the motor scale of the School AMPS than with the process scale of the School AMPS, which was expected. The School AMPS appears to be a promising instrument for measuring the constructs of school motor and school process skills within a naturalistic setting.     

A fluorescent based PCR assay for the detection and quantitation of Giardia duodenalis genotypes in mixed populations.

A method based on the polymerase chain reaction has been developed for differentiating between genotypically and phenotypically distinct strains of Giardia duodenalis and quantifying the amount of initial template of the different genotypes in mixed populations. The assay relies on a sequence-specific probe, labelled with two fluorescent dyes, designed to bind within the small subunit ribosomal (SSU) RNA gene. This target region is amplified by primers specific for either Group 1 or Group 2-type isolates of G. duodenalis and the probe binds within the primer-targeted region. This quantitative method takes advantage of the 5' nuclease activity of Taq DNA polymerase, which, on encountering a probe bound within the target DNA sequence cleaves it, causing it to become dissociated from the template. When the two fluorescent dyes bound to the probe are in close proximity (when the probe is intact), the interaction of the two dyes prevents the reporter dye from fluorescing. However, during the extension phase of amplification, the activity of the DNA polymerase causes the dyes to become separated and hence the reporter dye increases its fluorescent intensity. This release of fluorescence is directly related to the amplified amount of target template. This assay was developed with the aim of providing a unique method with which to investigate interactions within mixed populations of genetically distinct strains of G. duodenalis.     

Oncolytic viruses derived from the gamma34.5-deleted herpes simplex virus recombinant R3616 encode a truncated UL3 protein.

Replication-competent herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) mutants are used in clinical trials in the experimental treatment of cancer. Mutants G207, HSV1716, NV1020, and Oncovex GM-CSF share in common a defect in one or both copies of the gene encoding the neurovirulence factor, ICP34.5, and are thus neuroattenuated. These viruses are acknowledged to differ from one another (a) in the specific types of mutations intentionally introduced during their derivation and (b) in the inherent genetic differences retained from the different parent strains used in their construction. Unintended mutations are expected to emerge at some low frequency during the selection for and passage of mutant viruses. Here we demonstrate that during the construction of the oncolytic virus R3616, a nonsense mutation arose in an untargeted region of the HSV-1 genome that resulted in a substantial truncation of the viral protein known as UL3. This report is the first published documentation that oncolytic herpesviruses developed and used in clinical trials contain adventitious mutations. The implications of these findings for the characterization and development of vectors proposed for use in clinical trials are discussed.     

Neuroimmunophilin ligand V-10,367 is neuroprotective after 24-hour delayed administration in a mouse model of diffuse traumatic brain injury.

The authors present two studies that investigate the biochemical and histologic effects of the nonimmunosuppressive neuroimmunophilin (NIMM) ligand V-10,367 in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In study 1, the authors examined the effect of V-10,367 (50 mg/kg x 2 per day, by mouth) on neurofilament M (NFM) protein levels and on alpha-spectrin breakdown products (SBDPs) when dosed for 2 days, starting 24 hours after TBI and killed on day 3. In study 2, V-10,367 was given for 10 days, starting 24 hours after TBI and the mice killed 6 weeks after TBI, to measure the extent of neurodegeneration (amino CuAg stain). The results in study 1 revealed that V-10,367-treatment significantly increased NFM protein levels in both sham and TBI mice. In addition, V-10,367 attenuated SBDP 150 levels in the cortex, striatum, and hippocampus. The results of study 2 indicated that TBI mice treated with V-10,367 demonstrated significantly less neurodegeneration compared to injured, vehicle-treated mice. In summary, these results suggest that NIMMs may be neuroprotective indirectly through inhibition of calpain-mediated cytoskeletal damage and perhaps via maintenance of neuronal plasticity. In the context of this mouse model of TBI, the therapeutic window for V-10,367's positive effects is at least 24 hours after injury, which, in the case of TBI models, is largely unprecedented for a neuroprotective compound.     

Why Do High School Seniors Drink? Implications for a Targeted Approach to Intervention

The transition from high school to college provides a potentially critical window to intervene and reduce risky behavior among adolescents. Understanding the motivations (e.g., social, coping, enhancement) behind high school seniors' alcohol use could provide one important avenue to reducing risky drinking behaviors. In the present study, latent class analysis was used to examine the relationship between different patterns of drinking motivations and behaviors in a sample of 12th graders (N = 1,877) from the 2004 Monitoring the Future survey. Unlike previous variable-centered analyses, this person-centered approach identifies types of motivations that cluster together within individuals and relates membership in these profiles to drinking behaviors. Results suggest four profiles of drinking motivations for both boys and girls, including Experimenters, Thrill-seekers, Multi-reasoners, and Relaxers. Early initiation of alcohol use, past year drunkenness, and drinking before 4 P.M. were associated with greater odds of membership in the Multi-reasoners class as compared to the Experimenters class. Although the strength of these relationships varied for boys and girls, findings were similar across gender suggesting that the riskiest drinking behavior was related to membership in the Multi-reasoners class. These findings can be used to inform prevention programming. Specifically, targeted interventions that tailor program content to the distinct drinking motivation profiles described above may prove to be effective in reducing risky drinking behavior among high school seniors.     

New methods for inferring population dynamics from microbial sequences.

The reduced cost of high throughput sequencing, increasing automation, and the amenability of sequence data for evolutionary analysis are making DNA data (or the corresponding amino acid sequences) the molecular marker of choice for studying microbial population genetics and phylogenetics. Concomitantly, due to the ever-increasing computational power, new, more accurate (and sometimes faster), sequence-based analytical approaches are being developed and applied to these new data. Here we review some commonly used, recently improved, and newly developed methodologies for inferring population dynamics and evolutionary relationships using nucleotide and amino acid sequence data, including: alignment, model selection, bifurcating and network phylogenetic approaches, and methods for estimating demographic history, population structure, and population parameters (recombination, genetic diversity, growth, and natural selection). Because of the extensive literature published on these topics this review cannot be comprehensive in its scope. Instead, for all the methods discussed we introduce the approaches we think are particularly useful for analyses of microbial sequences and where possible, include references to recent and more inclusive reviews.