Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics are likely to have a significant long-term impact on higher education (HE). The scope of this impact is hard to grasp partly because the literature is ...siloed, as well as the changing meaning of the concepts themselves. But developments are surrounded by controversies in terms of what is technically possible, what is practical to implement and what is desirable, pedagogically or for the good of society. Design fictions that vividly imagine future scenarios of AI or robotics in use offer a means both to explain and query the technological possibilities. The paper describes the use of a wide-ranging narrative literature review to develop eight such design fictions that capture the range of potential use of AI and robots in learning, administration and research. They prompt wider discussion by instantiating such issues as how they might enable teaching of high order skills or change staff roles, as well as exploring the impact on human agency and the nature of datafication.
o assess associations of caesarean section with body mass from birth through adolescence.
ongitudinal birth cohort study, following subjects up to 15 years of age.
Children born in 1991-1992 in Avon, ...UK who participated in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) (n=10 219).
standardized measures of body mass (weight-for length z-scores at 6 weeks, 10 and 20 months; and body mass index (BMI) z-scores at 38 months, 7, 9, 11 and 15 years). Secondary outcome: categorical overweight or obese (BMI: 85th percentile) for age and gender, at 38 months, 7, 9, 11 and 15 years.
Of the 10 219 children, 926 (9.06%) were delivered by caesarean section. Those born by caesarean had lower-birth weights than those born vaginally (-46.1 g, 95% confidence interval(CI): 14.6-77.6 g; P=0.004). In mixed multivariable models adjusting for birth weight, gender, parental body mass, family sociodemographics, gestational factors and infant feeding patterns, caesarean delivery was consistently associated with increased adiposity, starting at 6 weeks (+0.11 s.d. units, 95% CI: 0.03-0.18; P=0.005), through age 15 (BMI z-score increment+0.10 s.d. units, 95% CI: 0.001-0.198; P=0.042). By age 11 caesarean-delivered children had 1.83 times the odds of overweight or obesity (95% CI: 1.24-2.70; P=0.002). When the sample was stratified by maternal pre-pregnancy weight, the association among children born of overweight/obese mothers was strong and long-lasting. In contrast, evidence of an association among children born of normal-weight mothers was weak.
Cesarean delivery is associated with increased body mass in childhood and adolescence. Research is needed to further characterize the association in children of normal weight women. Additional work is also needed to understand the mechanism underlying the association, which may involve relatively enduring changes in the intestinal microbiome.
Different brain regions can be grouped together, based on cross-sectional correlations among their cortical characteristics; this patterning has been used to make inferences about ageing processes. ...However, cross-sectional brain data conflate information on ageing with patterns that are present throughout life. We characterised brain cortical ageing across the eighth decade of life in a longitudinal ageing cohort, at ages ~73, ~76, and ~79 years, with a total of 1376 MRI scans. Volumetric changes among cortical regions of interest (ROIs) were more strongly correlated (average r = 0.805, SD = 0.252) than were cross-sectional volumes of the same ROIs (average r = 0.350, SD = 0.178). We identified a broad, cortex-wide, dimension of atrophy that explained 66% of the variance in longitudinal changes across the cortex. Our modelling also discovered more specific fronto-temporal and occipito-parietal dimensions that were orthogonal to the general factor and together explained an additional 20% of the variance. The general factor was associated with declines in general cognitive ability (r = 0.431, p < 0.001) and in the domains of visuospatial ability (r = 0.415, p = 0.002), processing speed (r = 0.383, p < 0.001) and memory (r = 0.372, p < 0.001). Individual differences in brain cortical atrophy with ageing are manifest across three broad dimensions of the cerebral cortex, the most general of which is linked with cognitive declines across domains. Longitudinal approaches are invaluable for distinguishing lifelong patterns of brain-behaviour associations from patterns that are specific to aging.
The extracellular, matrix-modifying enzyme lysyl oxidase (LOX) has recently been linked to colorectal cancer (CRC) progression, in particular to the stages of invasion and metastasis. In this report, ...we use cell lines expressing a catalytically inactive mutant form of LOX to show that catalytic activity is required for LOX-mediated effects on proliferation and invasion in both in vitro and in vivo models of CRC. Furthermore, we use rheology to measure the relative stiffness of modified collagen matrices and subcutaneous tumors, and show that LOX-induced collagen cross-linking results in stiffening of the matrix both in vitro and in vivo. We observe a strong association between matrix stiffness and activation of the FAK (focal adhesion kinase)/SRC-signaling pathway, with a stiffer environment resulting in increased FAK/SRC phosphorylation and a more proliferative and invasive phenotype. We are the first to show a direct relationship between LOX enzymatic activity and tissue stiffness, and to demonstrate a role for stiffness in driving CRC progression. Our findings provide significant evidence to suggest that therapeutic inhibition of LOX activity may provide a novel effective treatment option for patients with metastatic CRC.
These parameters were developed by the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters (JTFPP), representing the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI); the American College of Allergy, ...Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI); and the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The AAAAI and ACAAI have jointly accepted responsibility for establishing “The diagnosis and management of acute and chronic urticaria: 2014 update.” This is a complete and comprehensive document at the current time. The medical environment is a changing environment, and not all recommendations will be appropriate for all patients. Because this document incorporated the efforts of many participants, no single individual, including those who served on the JTFPP, is authorized to provide an official AAAAI or ACAAI interpretation of these practice parameters. Any request for information about or an interpretation of these practice parameters by the AAAAI or ACAAI should be directed to the Executive Offices of the AAAAI, the ACAAI, and the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The JTFPP understands that the cost of diagnostic tests and therapeutic agents is an important concern that might appropriately influence the work-up and treatment chosen for a given patient. The JTFPP recognizes that the emphasis of our primary recommendations regarding a medication might vary, for example, depending on third-party payer issues and product patent expiration dates. However, because a given test or agent's cost is so widely variable and there is a paucity of pharmacoeconomic data, the JTFPP generally does not consider cost when formulating practice parameter recommendations. In extraordinary circumstances, when the cost/benefit ratio of an intervention is prohibitive, as supported by pharmacoeconomic data, commentary might be provided. These parameters are not designed for use by pharmaceutical companies in drug promotion. The JTFPP is committed to ensuring that the practice parameters are based on the best scientific evidence that is free of commercial bias. To this end, the parameter development process includes multiple layers of rigorous review. These layers include the workgroup convened to draft the parameter, the task force reviewers, and peer review by members of each sponsoring society. Although the task force has the final responsibility for the content of the documents submitted for publication, each reviewer comment will be discussed, and reviewers will receive written responses to comments, when appropriate. To preserve the greatest transparency regarding potential conflicts of interest, all members of the JTFPP and the practice parameter workgroups will complete a standard potential conflict of interest disclosure form, which will be available for external review by the sponsoring organization and any other interested individual. In addition, before confirming the selection of a Work Group chairperson, the Joint Task Force will discuss and resolve all relevant potential conflicts of interest associated with this selection. Finally, all members of parameter workgroups will be provided a written statement regarding the importance of ensuring that the parameter development process is free of commercial bias. Practice parameters are available online at www.jcaai.org and www.allergyparameters.org.
In situ heart valve tissue engineering is an emerging approach in which resorbable, off-the-shelf available scaffolds are used to induce endogenous heart valve restoration. Such scaffolds are ...designed to recruit endogenous cells in vivo, which subsequently resorb polymer and produce and remodel new valvular tissue in situ. Recently, preclinical studies using electrospun supramolecular elastomeric valvular grafts have shown that this approach enables in situ regeneration of pulmonary valves with long-term functionality in vivo. However, the evolution and mechanisms of inflammation, polymer absorption and tissue regeneration are largely unknown, and adverse valve remodeling and intra- and inter-valvular variability have been reported. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to gain a mechanistic understanding of the in vivo regenerative processes by combining routine histology and immunohistochemistry, using a comprehensive sheep-specific antibody panel, with Raman microspectroscopy for the spatiotemporal analysis of in situ tissue-engineered pulmonary valves with follow-up to 24 months from a previous preclinical study in sheep. The analyses revealed a strong spatial heterogeneity in the influx of inflammatory cells, graft resorption, and foreign body giant cells. Collagen maturation occurred predominantly between 6 and 12 months after implantation, which was accompanied by a progressive switch to a more quiescent phenotype of infiltrating cells with properties of valvular interstitial cells. Variability among specimens in the extent of tissue remodeling was observed for follow-up times after 6 months. Taken together, these findings advance the understanding of key events and mechanisms in material-driven in situ heart valve tissue engineering.
This study describes for the first time the long-term in vivo inflammatory and regenerative processes that underly in situ heart valve tissue engineering using resorbable synthetic scaffolds. Using a unique combinatorial analysis of immunohistochemistry and Raman microspectroscopy, important spatiotemporal variability in graft resorption and tissue formation was pinpointed in in situ tissue-engineered heart valves, with a follow-up time of up to 24 months in sheep. This variability was correlated to heterogenous regional cellular repopulation, most likely instigated by region-specific differences in surrounding tissue and hemodynamics. The findings of this research contribute to the mechanistic understanding of in situ tissue engineering using resorbable synthetics, which is necessary to enable rational design of improved grafts, and ensure safe and robust clinical translation.
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ABSTRACT We present high-resolution (0 16) 870 m Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) imaging of 16 luminous ( ) submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) from the ALESS survey of the Extended ...Chandra Deep Field South. This dust imaging traces the dust-obscured star formation in these galaxies on ∼1.3 kpc scales. The emission has a median effective radius of Re = 0 24 0 02, corresponding to a typical physical size of 1.8 0.2 kpc. We derive a median Sérsic index of n = 0.9 0.2, implying that the dust emission is remarkably disk-like at the current resolution and sensitivity. We use different weighting schemes with the visibilities to search for clumps on 0 12 (∼1.0 kpc) scales, but we find no significant evidence for clumping in the majority of cases. Indeed, we demonstrate using simulations that the observed morphologies are generally consistent with smooth exponential disks, suggesting that caution should be exercised when identifying candidate clumps in even moderate signal-to-noise ratio interferometric data. We compare our maps to comparable-resolution Hubble Space Telescope -band images, finding that the stellar morphologies appear significantly more extended and disturbed, and suggesting that major mergers may be responsible for driving the formation of the compact dust disks we observe. The stark contrast between the obscured and unobscured morphologies may also have implications for SED fitting routines that assume the dust is co-located with the optical/near-IR continuum emission. Finally, we discuss the potential of the current bursts of star formation to transform the observed galaxy sizes and light profiles, showing that the descendants of these SMGs are expected to have stellar masses, effective radii, and gas surface densities consistent with the most compact massive ( 1-2 × 1011 ) early-type galaxies observed locally.
Fundamental quantum noise limits the precision of quantum-based detectors, for example limiting the ultimate precision of atomic clocks, which have applications in communication, navigation and tests ...of fundamental physics. Collective measurements of many quantum spins can project the ensemble into an entangled, spin-squeezed state with improved quantum-limited measurement resolution. However, measurement back-action has limited previous implementations of collective measurements to only modest observed enhancements in precision. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a collective measurement with reduced measurement back-action to produce and directly observe, with no background subtraction, a spin-squeezed state with phase resolution improved by a factor of 10.5(1.5) in variance, or 10.2(6) dB, compared to the initially unentangled ensemble of N = 4.8 × 105 87 Rb atoms. The measurement uses a cavity-enhanced probe of an optical cycling transition, mitigating back-action associated with state-changing transitions induced by the probe. This work establishes collective measurements as a powerful technique for generating useful entanglement for precision measurements.
We present subkiloparsec-scale mapping of the 870 m ALMA continuum emission in six luminous (LIR ∼ 5 × 1012 L ) submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) from the ALESS survey of the Extended Chandra Deep Field ...South. Our high-fidelity 0 07-resolution imaging (∼500 pc) reveals robust evidence for structures with deconvolved sizes of 0.5-1 kpc embedded within (dominant) exponential dust disks. The large-scale morphologies of the structures within some of the galaxies show clear curvature and/or clump-like structures bracketing elongated nuclear emission, suggestive of bars, star-forming rings, and spiral arms. In this interpretation, the ratio of the "ring" and "bar" radii (1.9 0.3) agrees with that measured for such features in local galaxies. These potential spiral/ring/bar structures would be consistent with the idea of tidal disturbances, with their detailed properties implying flat inner rotation curves and Toomre-unstable disks (Q < 1). The inferred one-dimensional velocity dispersions ( r 70-160 km s−1) are marginally consistent with the limits implied if the sizes of the largest structures are comparable to the Jeans length. We create maps of the star formation rate density ( SFR) on ∼500 pc scales and show that the SMGs are able to sustain a given (galaxy-averaged) SFR over much larger physical scales than local (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies. However, on 500 pc scales, they do not exceed the Eddington limit set by radiation pressure on dust. If confirmed by kinematics, the potential presence of nonaxisymmetric structures would provide a means for net angular momentum loss and efficient star formation, helping to explain the very high star formation rates measured in SMGs.
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The emerging field of in situ tissue engineering (TE) of load bearing tissues places high demands on the implanted scaffolds, as these scaffolds should provide mechanical stability ...immediately upon implantation. The new class of synthetic supramolecular biomaterial polymers, which contain non-covalent interactions between the polymer chains, thereby forming complex 3D structures by self assembly. Here, we have aimed to map the degradation characteristics of promising (supramolecular) materials, by using a combination of in vitro tests. The selected biomaterials were all polycaprolactones (PCLs), either conventional and unmodified PCL, or PCL with supramolecular hydrogen bonding moieties (either 2-ureido-1H-pyrimidin-4-one or bis-urea units) incorporated into the backbone. As these materials are elastomeric, they are suitable candidates for cardiovascular TE applications. Electrospun scaffold strips of these materials were incubated with solutions containing enzymes that catalyze hydrolysis, or solutions containing oxidative species. At several time points, chemical, morphological, and mechanical properties were investigated. It was demonstrated that conventional and supramolecular PCL-based polymers respond differently to enzyme-accelerated hydrolytic or oxidative degradation, depending on the morphological and chemical composition of the material. Conventional PCL is more prone to hydrolytic enzymatic degradation as compared to the investigated supramolecular materials, while, in contrast, the latter materials are more susceptible to oxidative degradation. Given the observed degradation pathways of the examined materials, we are able to tailor degradation characteristics by combining selected PCL backbones with additional supramolecular moieties. The presented combination of in vitro test methods can be employed to screen, limit, and select biomaterials for pre-clinical in vivo studies targeted to different clinical applications.
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