Context. 51 Eridani b is an exoplanet around a young (20 Myr) nearby (29.4 pc) F0-type star, which was recently discovered by direct imaging. It is one of the closest direct imaging planets in ...angular and physical separation (~0.5′′, ~13 au) and is well suited for spectroscopic analysis using integral field spectrographs. Aims. We aim to refine the atmospheric properties of the known giant planet and to constrain the architecture of the system further by searching for additional companions. Methods. We used the extreme adaptive optics instrument SPHERE at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to obtain simultaneous dual-band imaging with IRDIS and integral field spectra with IFS, extending the spectral coverage of the planet to the complete Y- to H-band range and providing additional photometry in the K12-bands (2.11, 2.25 μm). The object is compared to other known cool and peculiar dwarfs. The posterior probability distributions for parameters of cloudy and clear atmospheric models are explored using MCMC. We verified our methods by determining atmospheric parameters for the two benchmark brown dwarfs Gl 570D and HD 3651B. We used archival VLT-NACO (L′) Sparse Aperture Masking data to probe the innermost region for additional companions. Results. We present the first spectrophotometric measurements in the Y and K bands for the planet and revise its J-band flux to values 40% fainter than previous measurements. Cloudy models with uniform cloud coverage provide a good match to the data. We derive the temperature, radius, surface gravity, metallicity, and cloud sedimentation parameter fsed. We find that the atmosphere is highly super-solar (Fe/H = 1.0 ± 0.1 dex), and the low \hbox{${f_{\rm sed} = 1.26^{+0.36}_{-0.29}}$}fsed=1.26-0.29+0.36 value is indicative of a vertically extended, optically thick cloud cover with small sized particles. The model radius and surface gravity estimates suggest higher planetary masses of \hbox{${M_\mathrm{gravity} = 9.1^{+4.9}_{-3.3} \, {M}_\mathrm{J}}$}Mgravity=9.1-3.3+4.9 MJ. The evolutionary model only provides a lower mass limit of > 2 MJ (for pure hot-start). The cold-start model cannot explain the luminosity of the planet. The SPHERE and NACO/SAM detection limits probe the 51 Eri system at solar system scales and exclude brown-dwarf companions more massive than 20 MJ beyond separations of ~2.5 au and giant planets more massive than 2 MJ beyond 9 au.
Neurotransmitter receptors support the propagation of signals in the human brain. How receptor systems are situated within macro-scale neuroanatomy and how they shape emergent function remain poorly ...understood, and there exists no comprehensive atlas of receptors. Here we collate positron emission tomography data from more than 1,200 healthy individuals to construct a whole-brain three-dimensional normative atlas of 19 receptors and transporters across nine different neurotransmitter systems. We found that receptor profiles align with structural connectivity and mediate function, including neurophysiological oscillatory dynamics and resting-state hemodynamic functional connectivity. Using the Neurosynth cognitive atlas, we uncovered a topographic gradient of overlapping receptor distributions that separates extrinsic and intrinsic psychological processes. Finally, we found both expected and novel associations between receptor distributions and cortical abnormality patterns across 13 disorders. We replicated all findings in an independently collected autoradiography dataset. This work demonstrates how chemoarchitecture shapes brain structure and function, providing a new direction for studying multi-scale brain organization.
Neuroimaging research has demonstrated medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) hyporesponsivity and amygdala hyperresponsivity to trauma-related or emotional stimuli in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ...Relatively few studies have examined brain responses to the recollection of stressful, but trauma-unrelated, personal events in PTSD. In the current study, we sought to determine whether regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) abnormalities in mPFC and amygdala in PTSD could be observed during the recollection of trauma-unrelated stressful personal events.
Participants were 35 right-handed male combat veterans (MCVs) and female nurse veterans (FNVs) who served in Vietnam: 17 (seven male, 10 female) with current military-related PTSD and 18 (nine male, nine female) with no current or lifetime PTSD. We used positron emission tomography (PET) and script-driven imagery to study rCBF during the recollection of trauma-unrelated stressful versus neutral and traumatic events.
Voxelwise tests revealed significant between-group differences for the trauma-unrelated stressful versus neutral comparison in mPFC, specifically in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Functional region of interest (ROI) analyses demonstrated that this interaction in mPFC represented greater rCBF decreases in the PTSD group during trauma-unrelated stressful imagery relative to neutral imagery compared to the non-PTSD group. No differential amygdala activation was observed between groups or in either group separately.
Veterans with PTSD, compared to those without PTSD, exhibited decreased rCBF in mPFC during mental imagery of trauma-unrelated stressful personal experiences. Functional neuroanatomical models of PTSD must account for diminished mPFC responses that extend to emotional stimuli, including stressful personal experiences that are not directly related to PTSD.
Current treatments for xerostomia/dry mouth are palliative and largely ineffective. A permanent clinical resolution is being developed to correct hyposalivation using implanted hydrogel-encapsulated ...salivary human stem/progenitor cells (hS/PCs) to restore functional salivary components and increase salivary flow. Pluripotent epithelial cell populations derived from hS/PCs, representing a basal stem cell population in tissue, can differentiate along either secretory acinar or fluid-transporting ductal lineages. To develop tissue-engineered salivary gland replacement tissues, it is critical to reliably identify cells in tissue and as they enter these alternative lineages. The secreted protein α-amylase, the transcription factor MIST1, and aquaporin-5 are typical markers for acinar cells, and K19 is the classical ductal marker in salivary tissue. We found that early ductal progenitors derived from hS/PCs do not express K19, and thus earlier markers were needed to distinguish these cells from acinar progenitors. Salivary ductal cells express distinct polarity complex proteins that we hypothesized could serve as lineage biomarkers to distinguish ductal cells from acinar cells in differentiating hS/PC populations. Based on our studies of primary salivary tissue, both parotid and submandibular glands, and differentiating hS/PCs, we conclude that the apical marker MUC1 along with the polarity markers INADL/PATJ and SCRIB reliably can identify ductal cells in salivary glands and in ductal progenitor populations of hS/PCs being used for salivary tissue engineering. Other markers of epithelial maturation, including E-cadherin, ZO-1, and partition complex component PAR3, are present in both ductal and acinar cells, where they can serve as general markers of differentiation but not lineage markers.
Introduction
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are highly prevalent developmental disabilities associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. In addition to varied strengths and unique talents, ...people with FASD experience significant challenges, including in adaptive functioning. Adaptive functioning refers to skills related to everyday life such as communication, practical skills, and social skills. For the current review, we aimed to understand how adaptive functioning in FASD compares to that of alcohol nonexposed individuals and those with attention deficit‐hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Additionally, we investigated how this relationship may change based on IQ, executive functioning, and age.
Method
The current review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they measured adaptive functioning and included an FASD group and at least one eligible comparison group. Articles available in May 2021 in PubMed, PsycInfo, Scopus, and ProQuest Dissertations were searched. Publication bias was assessed using Egger's regression and three‐level random effects models were computed for all domains of adaptive functioning. Possible moderation by IQ, executive functioning, and age were investigated when heterogeneity analyses were significant. A post hoc moderation analysis of recruitment method was also completed.
Results
Thirty studies were included. Individuals with FASD had significantly lower adaptive functioning than other groups, with effect sizes ranging from 1.04 to 1.35 compared to alcohol nonexposed groups and from 0.30 to 0.43 compared to ADHD groups. No significant moderating effects were found for IQ or age; executive functioning significantly moderated communication skills in FASD compared to the alcohol nonexposed group. Recruitment method significantly affected this relationship, with larger effect sizes on average found for clinically identified samples than at‐risk or population samples.
Conclusions
Individuals with FASD have impairments in adaptive functioning relative to alcohol nonexposed and ADHD groups, regardless of IQ, executive functioning, or age. Limitations of the review include small sample sizes in some comparisons and a limited age range.
We conducted a meta‐analytic review of 30 studies of adaptive functioning in FASD. Individuals with FASD have significantly lower adaptive functioning relative to nonexposed and ADHD groups, regardless of IQ, executive functioning, and age. Clinically‐identified participants were significantly more impaired on average compared to at‐risk or population‐based samples. Results indicate people with FASD may not have adaptive skills in line with their other skills, and deficits may persist across development. Greater awareness and access to FASD‐informed care is urgently needed.
The use of race-specific seedling genes for resistance is the primary means of controlling crown rust of oat (Puccinia coronata f. sp. avenae) in the United States. To better utilize those resistance ...genes, knowledge of the occurrence and frequency of corresponding virulence in the population of P. coronata f. sp. avenae in the United States is essential. In total, 571 single-pustule isolates of oat crown rust were collected from cultivated and wild oat (Avena sativa and A. fatua, respectively) in the major oat production areas of the United States from 2006 through 2009. They were tested for virulence on seedlings of 31 differential oat lines in the greenhouse. In all, 201 races were found among the 357 isolates from the spring oat region of the north-central United States, and 140 races were found among 214 isolates from the southern winter oat region. The crown rust populations from the winter and spring oat regions were clearly differentiated from one another, differing in the frequency of virulence for 24 of the 31 differentials. Some virulence associations previously reported in the U.S. oat crown rust population were also found in both regions in this survey, even when the dataset was clone corrected. Associations between virulence to the Pc genes were predominately positive in both regions but both positive and negative associations occurred more frequently in the winter oat region, where sexual reproduction does not occur. Some of the virulence diversity in the oat crown rust population in the United States can be related to the deployment of resistance genes in commercial oat cultivars and virulence associations existing in the oat crown rust population. When data from a previous report covering 2001 through 2005 is combined with data reported in this article, the mean virulence of the U.S. populations of crown rust continued to increase from 2001 to 2009. Virulence to Pc38, Pc39, Pc45, Pc48, Pc52, Pc55, Pc56, Pc57, Pc59, Pc62, Pc63, Pc64, Pc68, and Pc96 significantly increased in one or both regions during this time period. No significant declines in virulence frequency were found in either region. Genes for crown rust resistance derived from A. sterilis appear to be as rapidly defeated as has happened to Pc genes from A. sativa. There is an urgent need to find additional sources of effective resistance to P. coronata f. sp. avenae and introgress it into adapted oat cultivars.
Acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) shows promise for spatially and temporally targeted tissue occlusion. In this study, substantial tissue occlusion was achieved in operatively exposed and ...transcutaneous canine kidneys by generating ADV gas bubbles in the renal arteries or segmental arteries. Fifteen canines were anesthetized, among which 10 underwent laparotomy to externalize the left kidney and five were undisturbed for transcutaneous ADV. The microbubbles were generated by phase conversion of perfluoropentane droplets encapsulated in albumin or lipid shells in the blood. A 3.5-MHz single-element therapy transducer was aligned with an imaging array in a water tank with direct access to the renal artery or a segmental artery. In vivo color flow and spectral Doppler imaging were used to identify the target arteries. Tone bursts of 1 kHz pulse repetition frequency with 0.25% duty cycle vaporized the droplets during bolus passage. Both intracardiac (IC) and intravenous (IV) injections repeatedly produced ADV in chosen arteries in externalized kidneys, as seen by B-mode imaging. Concurrent with this in two cases was the detection by pulse-wave Doppler of blood flow reversal, along with a narrowing of the waveform. Localized cortex occlusion was achieved with 87% regional flow reduction in one case using IC injections. Vaporization from IV injections resulted in a substantial echogenicity increase with an average half-life of 8 min per droplet dose. Gas bubbles sufficient to produce some shadowing were generated by transcutaneous vaporization of intrarenal artery or IV-administered droplets, with a tissue path up to 5.5 cm.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) represent a wide range of neurodevelopmental differences associated with prenatal alcohol exposure and are highly prevalent. The current study represents the ...initial stages in adapting the Families Moving Forward (FMF) Program, an evidence‐based behavioral consultation intervention for caregivers of children with FASD, to a website for teachers. Aims were to understand teachers' needs and preferences for an FASD‐informed intervention website and to assess the goodness of fit of the FMF Program to teachers and the school setting. Twenty‐three teachers with experience teaching students with FASD were interviewed. Interviews were conducted via Zoom and lasted about 53 min on average. Data were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis in Dedoose. Three overarching themes represented teachers' needs for an FASD‐informed resource: teachers need evidence‐based FASD information and strategies, teachers have very little extra time, and the needs of special and general education teachers vary. Teachers were positive about the concepts of the FMF Program and felt they would have good fit. Teachers need an evidence‐based FASD‐informed intervention that is easy to use, concise, and responsive to varying needs and levels of experience. Results will inform the adaptation process of the FMF Program.
Practitioner points
Three overarching themes represented teachers' needs for a fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)‐informed resource: teachers need evidence‐based FASD information and strategies, teachers have very little extra time, and the needs of special and general education teachers vary.
Teachers would generally use the website to learn about FASD when they have a student with FASD, or to share information about FASD with others.
Teachers were positive about the concepts of the Families Moving Forward Program and felt they would have good fit.
Despite tremendous advances in treatments for myeloma in the past decade, the disease remains incurable in the majority of patients. Here, we review recent data demonstrating an association between ...obesity and increased risk of myeloma development. This may be due to the pro-inflammatory cytokine profile caused by obesity. Currently, there are no screening or prevention strategies for myeloma, but we propose that obesity-associated inflammatory pathways, or obesity itself, may be amenable to intervention, thereby preventing the transition from pre-malignancy to myeloma. In addition, we suggest that the morbidity, mortality and the significant costs associated with myeloma treatment could be reduced by addressing modifiable risk factors, and that research efforts should explore this novel hypothesis.
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