Explaining the relationship between number line estimation and mathematical achievement: the role of visuomotor integration and visuospatial skills

Performance on number line tasks, typically used as a measure of numerical representations, are reliably related to children’s mathematical achievement. However, recent debate has questioned what precisely performance on the number line estimation task measures. Specifically, there has been a suggestion that this task may measure not only numerical representations but also proportional judgment skills; if this is the case, then individual differences in visuospatial skills, not just the precision of numerical representations, may explain the relationship between number line estimation and mathematical achievement. The current study investigated the relationships among visuospatial skills, visuomotor integration, number line estimation, and mathematical achievement. In total, 77 children were assessed using a number line estimation task, a standardized measure of mathematical achievement, and tests of visuospatial skills and visuomotor integration. The majority of measures were significantly correlated. In addition, the relationship between one metric from the number line estimation task (R2LIN) and mathematical achievement was fully explained by visuomotor integration and visuospatial skill competency. These results have important implications for understanding what the number line task measures as well as the choice of number line metric for research purposes

ADMS-AIRPORT: MODEL INTER-COMPARISIONS AND MODEL VALIDATION

The functionality of ADMS-Airport and details of its use in the Model Inter-comparison Study of the Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow Airport (PSDH) have previously been presented, Carruthers et al (2007). A distinguishing feature is the treatment of jet engine emissions as moving jet sources rather than averaging these emissions into volume sources as is the case in some other models. In this presentation two further studies are presented which each contribute to the overall evaluation of the model. In the Heathrow study on adding capacity (third runway) further comparisons have been made between the measured NOx, NO2 and PM10 concentrations from the large number of automatic monitoring sites located in the neighbourhood of Heathrow Airport and the ADMS-Airport predictions. A range of tools is employed with which to present the comparisons including the BOOT validation toolkit and concentration wind roses. In the CAEPport study a fictional but realistic airport was ‘constructed’ for a model inter-comparison study the purposes of which were (i) to determine that air quality airport models put forward for CAEP (ICAO’s Committee on Environmental Aviation Protection) analysis are ‘sufficiently robust, rigorous and transparent’ for forthcoming CAEP analyses and (ii) to explain differences in the models. The study included consideration of both emissions and air pollution concentrations however the focus here will be on the modelled concentrations. Results for ADMS-Airport from this study will be presented along with those of the other participating models – EDMS, LASPORT and ALAQS

The time required for water attack at the phosphorus atom of simple phosphodiesters and of DNA

Phosphodiester linkages, including those that join the nucleotides of DNA, are highly resistant to spontaneous hydrolysis. The rate of water attack at the phosphorus atom of phosphodiesters is known only as an upper limit, based on the hydrolysis of the dimethyl phosphate anion. That reaction was found to proceed at least 99% by C–O cleavage, at a rate suggesting an upper limit of 10−15 s−1 for P–O cleavage of phosphodiester anions at 25°C. To evaluate the rate enhancement produced by P–O cleaving phosphodiesterases such as staphylococcal nuclease, we decided to establish the actual value of the rate constant for P–O cleavage of a simple phosphodiester anion. In dineopentyl phosphate, C–O cleavage is sterically precluded so that hydrolysis occurs only by P–O cleavage. Measurements at elevated temperatures indicate that the dineopentyl phosphate anion undergoes hydrolysis in water with a t1/2 of 30,000,000 years at 25°C, furnishing an indication of the resistance of the internucleotide linkages of DNA to water attack at phosphorus. These results imply that staphylococcal nuclease (kcat = 95 s−1) enhances the rate of phosphodiester hydrolysis by a factor of ≈1017. In alkaline solution, thymidylyl-3′-5′-thymidine (TpT) has been reported to decompose 105-fold more rapidly than does dineopentyl phosphate. We find however that TpT and thymidine decompose at similar rates and with similar activation parameters, to a similar set of products, at pH 7 and in 1 M KOH. We infer that the decomposition of TpT is initiated by the breakdown of thymidine, not by phosphodiester hydrolysis

Feasibility of percutaneous posterolateral spinal fusion with recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2): a comparison with standard methods using an animal model study

Background Context: The clinical application of recombinant bone morphogenetic protein in spinal surgery has been shown to be safe and effective. However, its use in minimally invasive spine surgery has been limited to anterior interbody fusion procedures. To date, no study has evaluated the feasibility of percutaneous posterolateral fusion in the spine utilizing recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2). Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of percutaneous posterolateral fusion in the spine utilizing rhBMP-2. Study Design: Animal study. Methods: This is an animal research model involving 32 New Zealand white rabbits stratified into 4 study groups: control, autogenous iliac crest bone graft (ICBG), demineralized bone matrix (DBM), and rhBMP-2 groups, with 8 study subjects per group. The rhBMP-2 group was subdivided into the open technique (right side) and the percutaneous technique groups (left side). Fusion was graded at 6 weeks and 3 months after plain radiography, computed tomography, and clinical assessment with the following grading system: grade A, no bone formation; grade B, non-bridging bone formation; grade C, fusion; and grade D, fusion with ectopic bone formation. Results: No fusion was noted in the placebo and the DBM groups. However, in the DBM group, bone formation occurred in 37.5% of the subjects. The rhBMP-2 group had a higher fusion rate compared with the ICBG group at 6 weeks and 3 months. The fusion rate for the ICBG, the rhBMP-2 (open), and the rhBMP-2 (percutaneous) groups were 37.5%, 87.5%, and 50.0% at 6 weeks and 50.0%, 100.0%, and 62.5% at 3 months, respectively. Ectopic bone formation occurred in 12.5% of the cases in the rhBMP-2 (percutaneous) group and in 25.0% of the cases in the rhBMP-2 (open) group. Conclusions: Usage of rhBMP-2 is feasible for percutaneous posterolateral fusion of the lumbar spine in this animal model. However, a more precise delivery system might improve the fusion rate when the percutaneous technique is used. A significant rate of ectopic bone formation occurred when rhBMP-2 was used

Phenotypic Characterization of a Genetically Diverse Panel of Mice for Behavioral Despair and Anxiety

Animal models of human behavioral endophenotypes, such as the Tail Suspension Test (TST) and the Open Field assay (OF), have proven to be essential tools in revealing the genetics and mechanisms of psychiatric diseases. As in the human disorders they model, the measurements generated in these behavioral assays are significantly impacted by the genetic background of the animals tested. In order to better understand the strain-dependent phenotypic variability endemic to this type of work, and better inform future studies that rely on the data generated by these models, we phenotyped 33 inbred mouse strains for immobility in the TST, a mouse model of behavioral despair, and for activity in the OF, a model of general anxiety and locomotor activity.We identified significant strain-dependent differences in TST immobility, and in thigmotaxis and distance traveled in the OF. These results were replicable over multiple testing sessions and exhibited high heritability. We exploited the heritability of these behavioral traits by using in silico haplotype-based association mapping to identify candidate genes for regulating TST behavior. Two significant loci (-logp >7.0, gFWER adjusted p value <0.05) of approximately 300 kb each on MMU9 and MMU10 were identified. The MMU10 locus is syntenic to a major human depressive disorder QTL on human chromosome 12 and contains several genes that are expressed in brain regions associated with behavioral despair.We report the results of phenotyping a large panel of inbred mouse strains for depression and anxiety-associated behaviors. These results show significant, heritable strain-specific differences in behavior, and should prove to be a valuable resource for the behavioral and genetics communities. Additionally, we used haplotype mapping to identify several loci that may contain genes that regulate behavioral despair

Global, Regional, and National Cancer Incidence, Mortality, Years of Life Lost, Years Lived With Disability, and Disability-Adjusted Life-Years for 29 Cancer Groups, 1990 to 2016 A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study

IMPORTANCE: The increasing burden due to cancer and other noncommunicable diseases poses a threat to human development, which has resulted in global political commitments reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan on Non-Communicable Diseases. To determine if these commitments have resulted in improved cancer control, quantitative assessments of the cancer burden are required. OBJECTIVE: To assess the burden for 29 cancer groups over time to provide a framework for policy discussion, resource allocation, and research focus. EVIDENCE REVIEW: Cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) were evaluated for 195 countries and territories by age and sex using the Global Burden of Disease study estimation methods. Levels and trends were analyzed over time, as well as by the Sociodemographic Index (SDI). Changes in incident cases were categorized by changes due to epidemiological vs demographic transition. FINDINGS: In 2016, there were 17.2 million cancer cases worldwide and 8.9 million deaths. Cancer cases increased by 28% between 2006 and 2016. The smallest increase was seen in high SDI countries. Globally, population aging contributed 17%; population growth, 12%; and changes in age-specific rates, −1% to this change. The most common incident cancer globally for men was prostate cancer (1.4 million cases). The leading cause of cancer deaths and DALYs was tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer (1.2 million deaths and 25.4 million DALYs). For women, the most common incident cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths and DALYs was breast cancer (1.7 million incident cases, 535 000 deaths, and 14.9 million DALYs). In 2016, cancer caused 213.2 million DALYs globally for both sexes combined. Between 2006 and 2016, the average annual age-standardized incidence rates for all cancers combined increased in 130 of 195 countries or territories, and the average annual age-standardized death rates decreased within that timeframe in 143 of 195 countries or territories. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Large disparities exist between countries in cancer incidence, deaths, and associated disability. Scaling up cancer prevention and ensuring universal access to cancer care are required for health equity and to fulfill the global commitments for noncommunicable disease and cancer control

All-flavor constraints on nonstandard neutrino interactions and generalized matter potential with three years of IceCube DeepCore data

We report constraints on nonstandard neutrino interactions (NSI) from the observation of atmospheric neutrinos with IceCube, limiting all individual coupling strengths from a single dataset. Furthermore, IceCube is the first experiment to constrain flavor-violating and nonuniversal couplings simultaneously. Hypothetical NSI are generically expected to arise due to the exchange of a new heavy mediator particle. Neutrinos propagating in matter scatter off fermions in the forward direction with negligible momentum transfer. Hence the study of the matter effect on neutrinos propagating in the Earth is sensitive to NSI independently of the energy scale of new physics. We present constraints on NSI obtained with an all-flavor event sample of atmospheric neutrinos based on three years of IceCube DeepCore data. The analysis uses neutrinos arriving from all directions, with reconstructed energies between 5.6 GeV and 100 GeV. We report constraints on the individual NSI coupling strengths considered singly, allowing for complex phases in the case of flavor-violating couplings. This demonstrates that IceCube is sensitive to the full NSI flavor structure at a level competitive with limits from the global analysis of all other experiments. In addition, we investigate a generalized matter potential, whose overall scale and flavor structure are also constrained

Direction Reconstruction using a CNN for GeV-Scale Neutrinos in IceCube

The IceCube Neutrino Observatory observes neutrinos interacting deep within the South Pole ice. It consists of 5,160 digital optical modules, which are embedded within a cubic kilometer of ice, over depths of 1,450 m to 2,450 m. At the lower center of the array is the DeepCore subdetector. Its denser sensor configuration lowers the observable energy threshold to the GeV-scale, facilitating the study of atmospheric neutrino oscillations. The precise reconstruction of neutrino direction is critical in the measurements of oscillation parameters. This work presents a method to reconstruct the zenith angle of GeV-scale events in IceCube by using a convolutional neural network and compares the result to that of the current likelihood-based reconstruction algorithm