Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2002
... This paper attempts to present the overall framework and methodology for a large, complex dem... more ... This paper attempts to present the overall framework and methodology for a large, complex demonstration project ... Knowledge for Action: A Guide to Overcoming Barriers to OrganizationalChange. ... "Human factors in organizational design and management", Ergonomics, 34,743 ...
The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) will provide a uniform global clima... more The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) will provide a uniform global climatology of satellite-measured radiances and derive a climatology of cloud radiative properties from these radiances. For this purpose, a pilot study of cloud analysis algorithms was initiated to define a state-of-the-art algorithm for ISCCP. This study compared the results of applying the nine different algorithms to the same satellite radiance data. The comparison allowed for a sharper understanding of the process of detecting clouds and shows that all algorithms can be improved by better information about clear sky radiance values (essentially equivalent to surface property information) and by better understanding of cloud size distribution variations. The dependence of all methods on cloud size distribution led to selection of an advanced bispectral threshold technique for ISCCP because this method is currently better understood and more developed. Further research on cloud algorithms is clearly suggested by these results.
Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, 2012
The rock weathering literature contains the hypothesis that case hardening exemplifies equifinali... more The rock weathering literature contains the hypothesis that case hardening exemplifies equifinality, where the same end state can be reached by many potential processes in an open system. We present analytical data from six different sites in the western USA to assess the hypothesis of equifinality. Case hardening can be produced on: (1) sandstone in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, from the addition of silica glaze, rock varnish and heavy-metal skins; (2) sandstone in Whoopup Canyon, Wyoming, from silica glaze that formed originally inside subsurface joints combined with externally applied iron film, silica glaze, and rock varnish; (3) welded tuff in Death Valley, California, from the accumulation of rock varnish and heavy metal skins of Mn and Fe; (4) sandstone in Sedona, Arizona, from the protective effects of rock varnish accretion and heavy metal skins of Mn and Fe; (5) basalt on the Big Island, Hawai'i, from the accumulation of silica glaze inside vesicles; and (6) sandstone at Point Reyes, California, from a lithobiont mat of fungi and lichen. Each developed the general form of a case-hardened shell, protecting the surface from erosion. In accordance with the hypothesis of equifinality, the processes that led to similar appearance differ.
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 1997
The Lidcombe Programme is an operant intervention for early stuttering that parents administer to... more The Lidcombe Programme is an operant intervention for early stuttering that parents administer to children in their everyday speaking environments. The treatment was developed at the Suttering Unit, Bankstown Health Service, Sydney, and The University of Sydney. Recently, staff f r o m the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, The University of Sydney, toured universities and clinics in the U K to present lectures about this treatment. W e were encouraged to write this paper because an independent survey showed that most speech and language therapists who attended the presentations were open to this treatment. Prior to and following that lecture tour, publications in the press and professional journals in the UK alluded to many positive features of the Lidcombe Programme, but also raised several issues about it. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the Lidcombe Programme and address the following criticisms of the treatment that were raised in the UK: (I) Stuttering i s complex but the Lidcombe Programme is simple; (2) the Lidcombe Programme is not an operant treatment, but invokes positive changes in children's environments; (3) the Lidcombe Programme is harmful to children; and (4) the scientific evidence in support of the Lidcombe Programme is flawed. Each of these issues is addressed from logical, theoretical and empirical viewpoints. Le Lidcombe Programme est un traitment qui agit directement dans le cas de btgaiement prkcoce, et que les parents administrent a leurs enfants dans le cadre linguistique quotitien. Ce traitement a &ti mis au point nu sein de Iune tournte d'universitts et de cliniques britanniques pour donner des conftrences sur ce traiternent. L'encouragement a tcrire cet article est venu du fait qu'une enqu6te indtpendante a montrt que la plupart des orthophonistes qui avaient assistk a nos prtsentations ont accueilli favorablement ce traitement. Avant et aprds cette toumte de confkrences, des publications dans la press et des revues professionnelles britanniques ont fait allusion aux nombreux aspects positifs du Lidcombe Programme mais aussi elles ont formult les critiques suivantes: (I) Le bkgaiement est un phknomdne complexe alors que le Lidcombe Programme est simple (2) Le Lidcombe Programme n'est pas un traitement qui agit de luim6me, mais il incite ri des changements positifs dans le cadre de vie des enfants, (3) L e Lidcombe Programme est pernicieux pour les enfants, et (4) les bases scientifiques qui confirment le Lidcombe Programme sont entachtes de ddfauts. Nous rtpondons a chacune de ces critiques des points de vue logique, thkorique et empirique. Das Lidcombe Programm ist eine Behandlungsmethode fur junge Stotterer, die von Eltern in den Alltagssituationen iher Kinder angewandt werden kann. Die Behandlung wurde in der Stotterereinheit des Bankstown Gesundheitszentrums, Sydney und in der Universitat Sydney entwickelt. Vor kurzem haben Angestellte des australischen Forschung.v.entrums fur Stottern der Universitat Sydney mehrere Universitiiten und Kliniken im U K besucht, um Vortrage uber diese Behandlungsmethode zu halten. Wir wurden angehalten, diesen Aufsatz zu schreiben, weil eine unabhangige Umfrage bestatigte, da/3 die meisten Sprech-Sprachtherapercten, die unsere Vortrage horten, nachher der Methode positiv gegenuberstanden. Vor rind nach der Vortragsreise deuteten 232
One-day-old domestic chicks were injected i.p. with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) before training on a... more One-day-old domestic chicks were injected i.p. with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) before training on a one-trial passive avoidance task where the aversive experience was a bead coated with a bitter tasting substance, methyl anthranilate (MeA). Animals were tested 24 h later; those avoiding (if MeA-trained) or pecking if water (W)-trained (which they peck appetitively), along with a group of untrained naõ Ève chicks, were used to determine cell proliferation either 24 h or 9 days post BrdU injection. In all three groups, BrdU positive cells were identi®ed sparsely throughout the forebrain but labelling was pronounced around ventricular zone (VZ) surfaces at both 24 h and 9 days post-BrdU-injection. Double immunolabelling with neuronal speci®c antibodies, to either NeuN, or b-tubulin III, con®rmed that most BrdU labelled cells appeared to be neurons. Unbiased stereological analysis of labelled cells in selected forebrain areas 24 h post BrdU injection showed a signi®cant MeA-training induced increase in labelled cells in both the dorsal VZ surface bordering the intermediate and medial hyperstriatum ventrale (IMHV) and the tuberculum olfactorium (TO). By 9 days post-BrdU-injection, there was a signi®cantly greater number of BrdU labelled cells in MeA-trained birds within the IMHV, lobus parolfactorius (LPO) and TO. These results demonstrate that avoidance training in 1-day-old chicks has a marked effect on cell proliferation, in the LPO and IMHV, regions of the chick previously identi®ed as a key loci of memory formation, and in a second region (TO), which has olfactory functions, but has not been previously investigated in relation to avoidance learning.
The Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) is an omnivorous fish endemic to Central America that... more The Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) is an omnivorous fish endemic to Central America that was first recorded in South Florida in 1983. We examined their effects on native fishes in estuarine mangrove habitats between 1991 and 2006. Four major cold fronts passed during the study period and each killed many Mayan Cichlids, providing multiple opportunities to observe native fish responses to fluctuation in cichlid densities. Fish assemblage data were collected using drop traps placed at three estuarine sites and one impounded site. Analysis of similarity indicated that differences in assemblage structure among the four sites correlated with the presence of Mayan Cichlids. At two sites with high Mayan Cichlid density, SIMPER analysis revealed that relative densities of Sheepshead Minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus), killifish species, Clown Gobies (Microgobius gulosus), Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna), Tidewater Silverside (Menidia peninsulae), and species of Lepomis were correlated with Mayan Cichlid relative density. Time series analysis of data from the two sites with high Mayan Cichlid density indicated negative relationships between their density and density of Sheepshead Minnow, Marsh Killifish (Fundulus confluentus), and Eastern Mosquitofish after controlling for salinity. When present, the per capita impacts on Sheepshead Minnows were 40% to 60% greater than on the other taxa. Partial regression slopes of native fish density on Mayan Cichlid density were negative with unpatterned residuals across a broad range of cichlid densities, providing no indication of predator saturation or interference at high density. This may have resulted because of immigration of native fish to these sites during the South Florida dry season.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects, 1981
... OF MITOGEN-INDUCED LYMPHOBLASTS AND UNTREATED LYMPHOCYTES FRACTIONATED BY RATE-ZONAL CENTRIFU... more ... OF MITOGEN-INDUCED LYMPHOBLASTS AND UNTREATED LYMPHOCYTES FRACTIONATED BY RATE-ZONAL CENTRIFUGATION EARL H. HARRISON, VRATISLAV ZBUZEK, JON H ... York 13 O'Brien, RL and Parker, JW (1976) Cell 7, 13-16 37 Riordan, JR, Slavik, M. and ...
The neural causes of stuttering remain unknown. One explanation comes from neuroimaging studies t... more The neural causes of stuttering remain unknown. One explanation comes from neuroimaging studies that have reported abnormal lateralization of activation in the brains of people who stutter. However, these findings are generally based on data from adults with a long history of stuttering, raising the possibility that the observed lateralization anomalies are compensatory rather than causal. The current study investigated lateralization of brain activity in language-related regions of interest in young children soon after the onset of stuttering. We tested 24 preschool-aged children, half of whom had a positive diagnosis of stuttering. All children participated in a picture-naming experiment whilst their brain activity was recorded by magnetoencephalography (MEG). Source analysis performed during an epoch prior to speech onset was used to assess lateralized activation in 3 regions of interest. Activation was significantly lateralized to the left hemisphere in both groups and not different between groups. This study shows for the first time that significant speech preparatory brain activation can be identified in young children during picture-naming and supports the contention that, in stutterers, aberrant lateralization of brain function may be the result of neuroplastic adaptation that occurs as the condition becomes chronic.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 8:15 AM 126. The case for causal inference analysis in environmental asse... more Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 8:15 AM 126. The case for causal inference analysis in environmental assessment: Making use of the literature. Richard H. Norris 1 , Susan J. Nichols 1 , Michael J. Stewardson 2 , J. Angus Webb 3 , and ...
These are notes from the lectures of Giorgio Parisi given at the autumn school "Statistical Physi... more These are notes from the lectures of Giorgio Parisi given at the autumn school "Statistical Physics, Optimization, Inference, and Message-Passing Algorithm", that took place in Les Houches, France from Monday September 30th, 2013, till Friday October 11th, 2013. The school was organized by Florent Krzakala from UPMC and ENS Paris, Federico Ricci-Tersenghi from "La Sapienza" Roma, Lenka Zdeborová from CEA Saclay and CNRS, and Riccardo Zecchina from Politecnico Torino.
In male rats, long-term potentiation was induced unilaterally in the dentate gyrus, either by hig... more In male rats, long-term potentiation was induced unilaterally in the dentate gyrus, either by high frequency (200 Hz) or theta rhythm stimulation. Structural synaptic changes were examined 24 h after induction using quantitative electron microscopy. A disector technique was employed in order to estimate the density of synapses (using 70-80-nm sections) and of granule cell nuclei (using 2-mm sections) in the middle, and inner molecular layer in both hemispheres. Synaptic height and total lateral areas of synaptic active zones per unit tissue volume were assessed via assumption-free stereological techniques coupled with image analysis. The results obtained indicated that both synaptic density and number (corrected per neuron) of axo-spinous, but not axo-dendritic, synapses were ϳ40% higher in the middle, but not inner molecular layer of the potentiated hemisphere compared to the contralateral (control hemisphere). No significant inter-hemispheric difference was found in the volume densities of lateral areas of active zones.
The prevalence of Csh-like fibrillar surface proteins among oral streptococci was investigated by... more The prevalence of Csh-like fibrillar surface proteins among oral streptococci was investigated by ELISA and by immunoelectron microscopy using antiserum raised to recombinant fragments of CshA of Streptococcus gordonii DL1. The majority of S. gordonii, Streptococcus sanguis and Streptococcus oralis strains tested elaborated short (ca. 50-80 nm long) surface fibrils and reacted with antiserum to the amino acid repeat region of CshA, demonstrating the widespread nature of Csh-like proteins among these species. In contrast, reactivity with antiserum raised to the adhesion-mediating non-repetitive region of CshA was more restricted. On the basis of the ELISA results, several isolates were selected for immunogold analysis using CshA antisera. Immunogold-negative staining showed a surface distribution of 10 nm gold particles consistent with antibody binding to short fibrils. Long fibrils (>150 nm long), where present, were not significantly labelled with gold. The results suggest that some of the short peritrichous fibrils on many mitis group streptococci comprise Csh-like fibrillar protein. Further, the data are consistent with our hypothesis that the antigenically conserved amino acid repeat region of Csh-like proteins forms a scaffold for cell-distal presentation of the amino-terminal non-repetitive region that, at least in S. gordonii DL1, functions as an adhesin.
Several studies suggest mannose-binding lectin (MBL) deficiency is associated with various manife... more Several studies suggest mannose-binding lectin (MBL) deficiency is associated with various manifestations of aspergillosis. MBL serum levels and function are genetically determined, but levels rise during inflammation. We address the relative frequency of deficient genotypes, the relationship between serum level and genotype and both age and disease manifestations in patients with chronic pulmonary (CPA) and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and severe asthma with fungal sensitization (SAFS). DNA was extracted from blood samples, and MBL2 genotyping was performed using the INNO-LiPA MBL2 kit. Serum MBL concentrations were determined using ELISA. One hundred and eight patients were evaluated, 70 (65%) with CPA, 38 (35%) with allergic disease (ABPA, SAFS or undefined) and 13 (12%) had both CPA and ABPA. The mean MBL serum level was 1849 lg L )1 and did not differ between groups. Forty subjects (37%) had exon 1 genotypes producing nonfunctional MBL (A ⁄ B, A ⁄ C, A ⁄ D and O ⁄ O), a frequency not different from published normal controls. A ⁄ A subjects with CPA had higher levels (2981 lg L )1 ) compared with allergic A ⁄ A subjects (2202 lg L )1 ) (pc0.012). No single haplotype, genotype or allele was significantly related to any aspergillosis phenotype. Worse breathlessness was associated with higher MBL levels among A ⁄ A subjects (P = 0.009) and conversely nonfunctional genotypes. Mean MBL values were higher in those with an Medical Research Council (MRC) breathlessness score of 5 compared with those with and MRC score of 1 (P = 0.023). A ⁄ A allergic subjects (n = 27) in this study were 11 years younger than allergic A ⁄ O subjects (n = 11, P = 0.02). Subjects with worse respiratory status or more severe CPA had higher MBL serum levels (P = 0.023; P = 0.034). Bronchiectasis was not associated with MBL levels in CPA or allergic aspergillosis. MBL genotype and serum level modulate progression of aspergillosis.
Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 2002
... This paper attempts to present the overall framework and methodology for a large, complex dem... more ... This paper attempts to present the overall framework and methodology for a large, complex demonstration project ... Knowledge for Action: A Guide to Overcoming Barriers to OrganizationalChange. ... "Human factors in organizational design and management", Ergonomics, 34,743 ...
The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) will provide a uniform global clima... more The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) will provide a uniform global climatology of satellite-measured radiances and derive a climatology of cloud radiative properties from these radiances. For this purpose, a pilot study of cloud analysis algorithms was initiated to define a state-of-the-art algorithm for ISCCP. This study compared the results of applying the nine different algorithms to the same satellite radiance data. The comparison allowed for a sharper understanding of the process of detecting clouds and shows that all algorithms can be improved by better information about clear sky radiance values (essentially equivalent to surface property information) and by better understanding of cloud size distribution variations. The dependence of all methods on cloud size distribution led to selection of an advanced bispectral threshold technique for ISCCP because this method is currently better understood and more developed. Further research on cloud algorithms is clearly suggested by these results.
Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers, 2012
The rock weathering literature contains the hypothesis that case hardening exemplifies equifinali... more The rock weathering literature contains the hypothesis that case hardening exemplifies equifinality, where the same end state can be reached by many potential processes in an open system. We present analytical data from six different sites in the western USA to assess the hypothesis of equifinality. Case hardening can be produced on: (1) sandstone in Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, from the addition of silica glaze, rock varnish and heavy-metal skins; (2) sandstone in Whoopup Canyon, Wyoming, from silica glaze that formed originally inside subsurface joints combined with externally applied iron film, silica glaze, and rock varnish; (3) welded tuff in Death Valley, California, from the accumulation of rock varnish and heavy metal skins of Mn and Fe; (4) sandstone in Sedona, Arizona, from the protective effects of rock varnish accretion and heavy metal skins of Mn and Fe; (5) basalt on the Big Island, Hawai'i, from the accumulation of silica glaze inside vesicles; and (6) sandstone at Point Reyes, California, from a lithobiont mat of fungi and lichen. Each developed the general form of a case-hardened shell, protecting the surface from erosion. In accordance with the hypothesis of equifinality, the processes that led to similar appearance differ.
International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 1997
The Lidcombe Programme is an operant intervention for early stuttering that parents administer to... more The Lidcombe Programme is an operant intervention for early stuttering that parents administer to children in their everyday speaking environments. The treatment was developed at the Suttering Unit, Bankstown Health Service, Sydney, and The University of Sydney. Recently, staff f r o m the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, The University of Sydney, toured universities and clinics in the U K to present lectures about this treatment. W e were encouraged to write this paper because an independent survey showed that most speech and language therapists who attended the presentations were open to this treatment. Prior to and following that lecture tour, publications in the press and professional journals in the UK alluded to many positive features of the Lidcombe Programme, but also raised several issues about it. The purpose of this paper is to summarise the Lidcombe Programme and address the following criticisms of the treatment that were raised in the UK: (I) Stuttering i s complex but the Lidcombe Programme is simple; (2) the Lidcombe Programme is not an operant treatment, but invokes positive changes in children's environments; (3) the Lidcombe Programme is harmful to children; and (4) the scientific evidence in support of the Lidcombe Programme is flawed. Each of these issues is addressed from logical, theoretical and empirical viewpoints. Le Lidcombe Programme est un traitment qui agit directement dans le cas de btgaiement prkcoce, et que les parents administrent a leurs enfants dans le cadre linguistique quotitien. Ce traitement a &ti mis au point nu sein de Iune tournte d'universitts et de cliniques britanniques pour donner des conftrences sur ce traiternent. L'encouragement a tcrire cet article est venu du fait qu'une enqu6te indtpendante a montrt que la plupart des orthophonistes qui avaient assistk a nos prtsentations ont accueilli favorablement ce traitement. Avant et aprds cette toumte de confkrences, des publications dans la press et des revues professionnelles britanniques ont fait allusion aux nombreux aspects positifs du Lidcombe Programme mais aussi elles ont formult les critiques suivantes: (I) Le bkgaiement est un phknomdne complexe alors que le Lidcombe Programme est simple (2) Le Lidcombe Programme n'est pas un traitement qui agit de luim6me, mais il incite ri des changements positifs dans le cadre de vie des enfants, (3) L e Lidcombe Programme est pernicieux pour les enfants, et (4) les bases scientifiques qui confirment le Lidcombe Programme sont entachtes de ddfauts. Nous rtpondons a chacune de ces critiques des points de vue logique, thkorique et empirique. Das Lidcombe Programm ist eine Behandlungsmethode fur junge Stotterer, die von Eltern in den Alltagssituationen iher Kinder angewandt werden kann. Die Behandlung wurde in der Stotterereinheit des Bankstown Gesundheitszentrums, Sydney und in der Universitat Sydney entwickelt. Vor kurzem haben Angestellte des australischen Forschung.v.entrums fur Stottern der Universitat Sydney mehrere Universitiiten und Kliniken im U K besucht, um Vortrage uber diese Behandlungsmethode zu halten. Wir wurden angehalten, diesen Aufsatz zu schreiben, weil eine unabhangige Umfrage bestatigte, da/3 die meisten Sprech-Sprachtherapercten, die unsere Vortrage horten, nachher der Methode positiv gegenuberstanden. Vor rind nach der Vortragsreise deuteten 232
One-day-old domestic chicks were injected i.p. with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) before training on a... more One-day-old domestic chicks were injected i.p. with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) before training on a one-trial passive avoidance task where the aversive experience was a bead coated with a bitter tasting substance, methyl anthranilate (MeA). Animals were tested 24 h later; those avoiding (if MeA-trained) or pecking if water (W)-trained (which they peck appetitively), along with a group of untrained naõ Ève chicks, were used to determine cell proliferation either 24 h or 9 days post BrdU injection. In all three groups, BrdU positive cells were identi®ed sparsely throughout the forebrain but labelling was pronounced around ventricular zone (VZ) surfaces at both 24 h and 9 days post-BrdU-injection. Double immunolabelling with neuronal speci®c antibodies, to either NeuN, or b-tubulin III, con®rmed that most BrdU labelled cells appeared to be neurons. Unbiased stereological analysis of labelled cells in selected forebrain areas 24 h post BrdU injection showed a signi®cant MeA-training induced increase in labelled cells in both the dorsal VZ surface bordering the intermediate and medial hyperstriatum ventrale (IMHV) and the tuberculum olfactorium (TO). By 9 days post-BrdU-injection, there was a signi®cantly greater number of BrdU labelled cells in MeA-trained birds within the IMHV, lobus parolfactorius (LPO) and TO. These results demonstrate that avoidance training in 1-day-old chicks has a marked effect on cell proliferation, in the LPO and IMHV, regions of the chick previously identi®ed as a key loci of memory formation, and in a second region (TO), which has olfactory functions, but has not been previously investigated in relation to avoidance learning.
The Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) is an omnivorous fish endemic to Central America that... more The Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) is an omnivorous fish endemic to Central America that was first recorded in South Florida in 1983. We examined their effects on native fishes in estuarine mangrove habitats between 1991 and 2006. Four major cold fronts passed during the study period and each killed many Mayan Cichlids, providing multiple opportunities to observe native fish responses to fluctuation in cichlid densities. Fish assemblage data were collected using drop traps placed at three estuarine sites and one impounded site. Analysis of similarity indicated that differences in assemblage structure among the four sites correlated with the presence of Mayan Cichlids. At two sites with high Mayan Cichlid density, SIMPER analysis revealed that relative densities of Sheepshead Minnows (Cyprinodon variegatus), killifish species, Clown Gobies (Microgobius gulosus), Eastern Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna), Tidewater Silverside (Menidia peninsulae), and species of Lepomis were correlated with Mayan Cichlid relative density. Time series analysis of data from the two sites with high Mayan Cichlid density indicated negative relationships between their density and density of Sheepshead Minnow, Marsh Killifish (Fundulus confluentus), and Eastern Mosquitofish after controlling for salinity. When present, the per capita impacts on Sheepshead Minnows were 40% to 60% greater than on the other taxa. Partial regression slopes of native fish density on Mayan Cichlid density were negative with unpatterned residuals across a broad range of cichlid densities, providing no indication of predator saturation or interference at high density. This may have resulted because of immigration of native fish to these sites during the South Florida dry season.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects, 1981
... OF MITOGEN-INDUCED LYMPHOBLASTS AND UNTREATED LYMPHOCYTES FRACTIONATED BY RATE-ZONAL CENTRIFU... more ... OF MITOGEN-INDUCED LYMPHOBLASTS AND UNTREATED LYMPHOCYTES FRACTIONATED BY RATE-ZONAL CENTRIFUGATION EARL H. HARRISON, VRATISLAV ZBUZEK, JON H ... York 13 O'Brien, RL and Parker, JW (1976) Cell 7, 13-16 37 Riordan, JR, Slavik, M. and ...
The neural causes of stuttering remain unknown. One explanation comes from neuroimaging studies t... more The neural causes of stuttering remain unknown. One explanation comes from neuroimaging studies that have reported abnormal lateralization of activation in the brains of people who stutter. However, these findings are generally based on data from adults with a long history of stuttering, raising the possibility that the observed lateralization anomalies are compensatory rather than causal. The current study investigated lateralization of brain activity in language-related regions of interest in young children soon after the onset of stuttering. We tested 24 preschool-aged children, half of whom had a positive diagnosis of stuttering. All children participated in a picture-naming experiment whilst their brain activity was recorded by magnetoencephalography (MEG). Source analysis performed during an epoch prior to speech onset was used to assess lateralized activation in 3 regions of interest. Activation was significantly lateralized to the left hemisphere in both groups and not different between groups. This study shows for the first time that significant speech preparatory brain activation can be identified in young children during picture-naming and supports the contention that, in stutterers, aberrant lateralization of brain function may be the result of neuroplastic adaptation that occurs as the condition becomes chronic.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 8:15 AM 126. The case for causal inference analysis in environmental asse... more Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 8:15 AM 126. The case for causal inference analysis in environmental assessment: Making use of the literature. Richard H. Norris 1 , Susan J. Nichols 1 , Michael J. Stewardson 2 , J. Angus Webb 3 , and ...
These are notes from the lectures of Giorgio Parisi given at the autumn school "Statistical Physi... more These are notes from the lectures of Giorgio Parisi given at the autumn school "Statistical Physics, Optimization, Inference, and Message-Passing Algorithm", that took place in Les Houches, France from Monday September 30th, 2013, till Friday October 11th, 2013. The school was organized by Florent Krzakala from UPMC and ENS Paris, Federico Ricci-Tersenghi from "La Sapienza" Roma, Lenka Zdeborová from CEA Saclay and CNRS, and Riccardo Zecchina from Politecnico Torino.
In male rats, long-term potentiation was induced unilaterally in the dentate gyrus, either by hig... more In male rats, long-term potentiation was induced unilaterally in the dentate gyrus, either by high frequency (200 Hz) or theta rhythm stimulation. Structural synaptic changes were examined 24 h after induction using quantitative electron microscopy. A disector technique was employed in order to estimate the density of synapses (using 70-80-nm sections) and of granule cell nuclei (using 2-mm sections) in the middle, and inner molecular layer in both hemispheres. Synaptic height and total lateral areas of synaptic active zones per unit tissue volume were assessed via assumption-free stereological techniques coupled with image analysis. The results obtained indicated that both synaptic density and number (corrected per neuron) of axo-spinous, but not axo-dendritic, synapses were ϳ40% higher in the middle, but not inner molecular layer of the potentiated hemisphere compared to the contralateral (control hemisphere). No significant inter-hemispheric difference was found in the volume densities of lateral areas of active zones.
The prevalence of Csh-like fibrillar surface proteins among oral streptococci was investigated by... more The prevalence of Csh-like fibrillar surface proteins among oral streptococci was investigated by ELISA and by immunoelectron microscopy using antiserum raised to recombinant fragments of CshA of Streptococcus gordonii DL1. The majority of S. gordonii, Streptococcus sanguis and Streptococcus oralis strains tested elaborated short (ca. 50-80 nm long) surface fibrils and reacted with antiserum to the amino acid repeat region of CshA, demonstrating the widespread nature of Csh-like proteins among these species. In contrast, reactivity with antiserum raised to the adhesion-mediating non-repetitive region of CshA was more restricted. On the basis of the ELISA results, several isolates were selected for immunogold analysis using CshA antisera. Immunogold-negative staining showed a surface distribution of 10 nm gold particles consistent with antibody binding to short fibrils. Long fibrils (>150 nm long), where present, were not significantly labelled with gold. The results suggest that some of the short peritrichous fibrils on many mitis group streptococci comprise Csh-like fibrillar protein. Further, the data are consistent with our hypothesis that the antigenically conserved amino acid repeat region of Csh-like proteins forms a scaffold for cell-distal presentation of the amino-terminal non-repetitive region that, at least in S. gordonii DL1, functions as an adhesin.
Several studies suggest mannose-binding lectin (MBL) deficiency is associated with various manife... more Several studies suggest mannose-binding lectin (MBL) deficiency is associated with various manifestations of aspergillosis. MBL serum levels and function are genetically determined, but levels rise during inflammation. We address the relative frequency of deficient genotypes, the relationship between serum level and genotype and both age and disease manifestations in patients with chronic pulmonary (CPA) and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and severe asthma with fungal sensitization (SAFS). DNA was extracted from blood samples, and MBL2 genotyping was performed using the INNO-LiPA MBL2 kit. Serum MBL concentrations were determined using ELISA. One hundred and eight patients were evaluated, 70 (65%) with CPA, 38 (35%) with allergic disease (ABPA, SAFS or undefined) and 13 (12%) had both CPA and ABPA. The mean MBL serum level was 1849 lg L )1 and did not differ between groups. Forty subjects (37%) had exon 1 genotypes producing nonfunctional MBL (A ⁄ B, A ⁄ C, A ⁄ D and O ⁄ O), a frequency not different from published normal controls. A ⁄ A subjects with CPA had higher levels (2981 lg L )1 ) compared with allergic A ⁄ A subjects (2202 lg L )1 ) (pc0.012). No single haplotype, genotype or allele was significantly related to any aspergillosis phenotype. Worse breathlessness was associated with higher MBL levels among A ⁄ A subjects (P = 0.009) and conversely nonfunctional genotypes. Mean MBL values were higher in those with an Medical Research Council (MRC) breathlessness score of 5 compared with those with and MRC score of 1 (P = 0.023). A ⁄ A allergic subjects (n = 27) in this study were 11 years younger than allergic A ⁄ O subjects (n = 11, P = 0.02). Subjects with worse respiratory status or more severe CPA had higher MBL serum levels (P = 0.023; P = 0.034). Bronchiectasis was not associated with MBL levels in CPA or allergic aspergillosis. MBL genotype and serum level modulate progression of aspergillosis.
Uploads
Papers by E. Harrison