Early childhood poverty, immune-mediated disease processes, and adult productivity.

PubMed

Ziol-Guest, Kathleen M; Duncan, Greg J; Kalil, Ariel; Boyce, W Thomas

2012-10-16

This study seeks to understand whether poverty very early in life is associated with early-onset adult conditions related to immune-mediated chronic diseases. It also tests the role that these immune-mediated chronic diseases may play in accounting for the associations between early poverty and adult productivity. Data (n = 1,070) come from the US Panel Study of Income Dynamics and include economic conditions in utero and throughout childhood and adolescence coupled with adult (age 30-41 y) self-reports of health and economic productivity. Results show that low income, particularly in very early childhood (between the prenatal and second year of life), is associated with increases in early-adult hypertension, arthritis, and limitations on activities of daily living. Moreover, these relationships and particularly arthritis partially account for the associations between early childhood poverty and adult productivity as measured by adult work hours and earnings. The results suggest that the associations between early childhood poverty and these adult disease states may be immune-mediated.

New Tobacco and Tobacco-Related Products: Early Detection of Product Development, Marketing Strategies, and Consumer Interest

PubMed Central

Staal, Yvonne CM; van de Nobelen, Suzanne; Havermans, Anne

2018-01-01

Background A wide variety of new tobacco and tobacco-related products have emerged on the market in recent years. Objective To understand their potential implications for public health and to guide tobacco control efforts, we have used an infoveillance approach to identify new tobacco and tobacco-related products. Methods Our search for tobacco(-related) products consists of several tailored search profiles using combinations of keywords such as “e-cigarette” and “new” to extract information from almost 9000 preselected sources such as websites of online shops, tobacco manufacturers, and news sites. Results Developments in e-cigarette design characteristics show a trend toward customization by possibilities to adjust temperature and airflow, and by the large variety of flavors of e-liquids. Additionally, more e-cigarettes are equipped with personalized accessories, such as mobile phones, applications, and Bluetooth. Waterpipe products follow the trend toward electronic vaping. Various heat-not-burn products were reintroduced to the market. Conclusions Our search for tobacco(-related) products was specific and timely, though advances in product development require ongoing optimization of the search strategy. Our results show a trend toward products resembling tobacco cigarettes vaporizers that can be adapted to the consumers’ needs. Our search for tobacco(-related) products could aid in the assessment of the likelihood of new products to gain market share, as a possible health risk or as an indicator for the need on independent and reliable information of the product to the general public. PMID:29807884

New Tobacco and Tobacco-Related Products: Early Detection of Product Development, Marketing Strategies, and Consumer Interest.

PubMed

Staal, Yvonne Cm; van de Nobelen, Suzanne; Havermans, Anne; Talhout, Reinskje

2018-05-28

A wide variety of new tobacco and tobacco-related products have emerged on the market in recent years. To understand their potential implications for public health and to guide tobacco control efforts, we have used an infoveillance approach to identify new tobacco and tobacco-related products. Our search for tobacco(-related) products consists of several tailored search profiles using combinations of keywords such as "e-cigarette" and "new" to extract information from almost 9000 preselected sources such as websites of online shops, tobacco manufacturers, and news sites. Developments in e-cigarette design characteristics show a trend toward customization by possibilities to adjust temperature and airflow, and by the large variety of flavors of e-liquids. Additionally, more e-cigarettes are equipped with personalized accessories, such as mobile phones, applications, and Bluetooth. Waterpipe products follow the trend toward electronic vaping. Various heat-not-burn products were reintroduced to the market. Our search for tobacco(-related) products was specific and timely, though advances in product development require ongoing optimization of the search strategy. Our results show a trend toward products resembling tobacco cigarettes vaporizers that can be adapted to the consumers' needs. Our search for tobacco(-related) products could aid in the assessment of the likelihood of new products to gain market share, as a possible health risk or as an indicator for the need on independent and reliable information of the product to the general public. ©Yvonne CM Staal, Suzanne van de Nobelen, Anne Havermans, Reinskje Talhout. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 28.05.2018.

Guidelines for Making a Video Presentation on Early Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Carolyn S.; And Others

This paper discusses the production of videotape recordings illustrating developmental milestones of early childhood to serve as a reference point in working with parents or staff caring for young children who have disabilities. Procedures for making a video presentation include the following steps: select a topic (such as motor development,…

An investigation of low ergonomics risk awareness, among staffs at early product development phase in Malaysia automotive industries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziz, Fazilah Abdul; Razali, Noraini; Najmiyah Jaafar, Nur

2016-02-01

Currently there are many automotive companies still unable to effectively prevent consequences of poor ergonomics in their manufacturing processes. This study purpose is to determine the surrounding factors that influence low ergonomics risk awareness among staffs at early product development phase in Malaysia automotive industry. In this study there are four variables, low ergonomic risk awareness, inappropriate method and tools, tight development schedule and lack of management support. The survey data were gathered from 245 respondents of local automotive companies in Malaysia. The data was analysed through multiple regression and moderated regression using the IBM SPSS software. Study results revealed that low ergonomic risk awareness has influenced by inappropriate method and tool, and tight development schedule. There were positive linear relationships between low ergonomic risk awareness and inappropriate method and tools, and tight development schedule. The more inappropriate method and tools applied; the lower their ergonomic risk awareness. The more tight development schedule is the lower ergonomic risk awareness. The relationship between low ergonomic risk awareness and inappropriate method and tools depends on staff's age, and education level. Furthermore the relationship between low ergonomic risk awareness and tight development schedule depends on staff's working experience and number of project involvement. The main contribution of this paper was identified the number of factors of low ergonomics risk awareness and offers better understanding on ergonomics among researchers and automotive manufacturer's employees during product development process.

A Discrepancy in Comprehension and Production in Early Language Development in ASD: Is it Clinically Relevant?

PubMed

Davidson, Meghan M; Ellis Weismer, Susan

2017-07-01

This study examined the extent to which a discrepant comprehension-production profile (i.e., relatively more delayed comprehension than production) is characteristic of the early language phenotype in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and tracked the developmental progression of the profile. Our findings indicated that a discrepant comprehension-production profile distinguished toddlers (30 months) with ASD from late talkers without ASD (91% sensitivity, 100% specificity) in groups that were comparable on expressive language, age, and socioeconomic status. Longitudinal data for children with ASD revealed that the discrepant profile steadily decreased from 30 to 44 months until there was no significant comprehension-production difference at 66 months. In conclusion, results suggest that lower comprehension than production may be an age-specific marker of toddlers with ASD.

Early Implementation of QbD in Biopharmaceutical Development: A Practical Example

PubMed Central

Zurdo, Jesús; Arnell, Andreas; Obrezanova, Olga; Smith, Noel; Gómez de la Cuesta, Ramón; Gallagher, Thomas R. A.; Michael, Rebecca; Stallwood, Yvette; Ekblad, Caroline; Abrahmsén, Lars; Höidén-Guthenberg, Ingmarie

2015-01-01

In drug development, the “onus” of the low R&D efficiency has been put traditionally onto the drug discovery process (i.e., finding the right target or “binding” functionality). Here, we show that manufacturing is not only a central component of product success, but also that, by integrating manufacturing and discovery activities in a “holistic” interpretation of QbD methodologies, we could expect to increase the efficiency of the drug discovery process as a whole. In this new context, early risk assessment, using developability methodologies and computational methods in particular, can assist in reducing risks during development in a cost-effective way. We define specific areas of risk and how they can impact product quality in a broad sense, including essential aspects such as product efficacy and patient safety. Emerging industry practices around developability are introduced, including some specific examples of applications to biotherapeutics. Furthermore, we suggest some potential workflows to illustrate how developability strategies can be introduced in practical terms during early drug development in order to mitigate risks, reduce drug attrition and ultimately increase the robustness of the biopharmaceutical supply chain. Finally, we also discuss how the implementation of such methodologies could accelerate the access of new therapeutic treatments to patients in the clinic. PMID:26075248

Spatiotemporal transcriptome provides insights into early fruit development of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).

PubMed

Zhang, Shuaibin; Xu, Meng; Qiu, Zhengkun; Wang, Ketao; Du, Yongchen; Gu, Lianfeng; Cui, Xia

2016-03-18

Early fruit development is crucial for crop production in tomato. After fertilization, the ovary undergoes cell division and cell expansion before maturation. Although the roles of regulatory signals such as hormone and carbohydrate during early fruit development have been studied, the spatial distribution and the sequential initiation of these regulatory signals still need to be explored. Using the tomato cultivar 'Moneymaker', we analyzed the transcriptome of the ovule and the ovary wall/pericarp dissected from four different stages of the early developing fruits by stereoscope. These datasets give us the whole picture about the spatial and temporal signal distribution in early development of ovule and pericarp. Our results indicate that the hormone signal was initiated in both ovule and pericarp after fertilization. After that, different signals were activated in ovule and pericarp due to their distinct developmental processes. Our study provides spatiotemporal regulatory landscape of gene expression with sequential information which was not studied by previous work and further strengthens the comprehension of the regulatory and metabolic events controlling early fruit development.

Early declarative memory predicts productive language: A longitudinal study of deferred imitation and communication at 9 and 16months.

PubMed

Sundqvist, Annette; Nordqvist, Emelie; Koch, Felix-Sebastian; Heimann, Mikael

2016-11-01

Deferred imitation (DI) may be regarded as an early declarative-like memory ability shaping the infant's ability to learn about novelties and regularities of the surrounding world. In the current longitudinal study, infants were assessed at 9 and 16months. DI was assessed using five novel objects. Each infant's communicative development was measured by parental questionnaires. The results indicate stability in DI performance and early communicative development between 9 and 16months. The early achievers at 9months were still advanced at 16months. Results also identified a predictive relationship between the infant's gestural development at 9months and the infant's productive and receptive language at 16months. Moreover, the results show that declarative memory, measured with DI, and gestural communication at 9months independently predict productive language at 16months. These findings suggest a connection between the ability to form non-linguistic and linguistic mental representations. These results indicate that the child's DI ability when predominantly preverbal might be regarded as an early domain-general declarative memory ability underlying early productive language development. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Instructional Media Production for Early Childhood Education: A. B. C. Jig-Saw Puzzle, a Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yusuf, Mudashiru Olalere; Olanrewaju, Olatayo Solomon; Soetan, Aderonke K.

2015-01-01

In this paper, a. b. c. jig-saw puzzle was produced for early childhood education using local materials. This study was a production based type of research, to serve as a supplemental or total learning resource. Its production followed four phases of development referred to as information, design, production and evaluation. The storyboard cards,…

The early career researcher's toolkit: translating tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and cell therapy products.

PubMed

Rafiq, Qasim A; Ortega, Ilida; Jenkins, Stuart I; Wilson, Samantha L; Patel, Asha K; Barnes, Amanda L; Adams, Christopher F; Delcassian, Derfogail; Smith, David

2015-11-01

Although the importance of translation for the development of tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and cell-based therapies is widely recognized, the process of translation is less well understood. This is particularly the case among some early career researchers who may not appreciate the intricacies of translational research or make decisions early in development which later hinders effective translation. Based on our own research and experiences as early career researchers involved in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine translation, we discuss common pitfalls associated with translational research, providing practical solutions and important considerations which will aid process and product development. Suggestions range from effective project management, consideration of key manufacturing, clinical and regulatory matters and means of exploiting research for successful commercialization.

Early zebrafish development: It’s in the maternal genes

PubMed Central

Abrams, Elliott W.; Mullins, Mary C.

2009-01-01

Summary The earliest stages of embryonic development in all animals examined rely on maternal gene products that are generated during oogenesis and supplied to the egg. The period of maternal control of embryonic development varies among animals according to the onset of zygotic transcription and the persistence of maternal gene products. This maternal regulation has been little studied in vertebrates, due to the difficulty in manipulating maternal gene function and lack of basic molecular information. However, recent maternal-effect screens in the zebrafish have generated more than 40 unique mutants that are providing new molecular entry points to the maternal control of early vertebrate development. Here we discuss recent studies of 12 zebrafish mutant genes that illuminate the maternal molecular controls on embryonic development, including advances in the regulation of animal-vegetal polarity, egg activation, cleavage development, body plan formation, tissue morphogenesis, microRNA function and germ cell development. PMID:19608405

Bridging the gap: facilities and technologies for development of early stage therapeutic mAb candidates.

PubMed

Munro, Trent P; Mahler, Stephen M; Huang, Edwin P; Chin, David Y; Gray, Peter P

2011-01-01

Therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) currently dominate the biologics marketplace. Development of a new therapeutic mAb candidate is a complex, multistep process and early stages of development typically begin in an academic research environment. Recently, a number of facilities and initiatives have been launched to aid researchers along this difficult path and facilitate progression of the next mAb blockbuster. Complementing this, there has been a renewed interest from the pharmaceutical industry to reconnect with academia in order to boost dwindling pipelines and encourage innovation. In this review, we examine the steps required to take a therapeutic mAb from discovery through early stage preclinical development and toward becoming a feasible clinical candidate. Discussion of the technologies used for mAb discovery, production in mammalian cells and innovations in single-use bioprocessing is included. We also examine regulatory requirements for product quality and characterization that should be considered at the earliest stages of mAb development. We provide details on the facilities available to help researchers and small-biotech build value into early stage product development, and include examples from within our own facility of how technologies are utilized and an analysis of our client base.

Taiwanese Early Childhood Educators' Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsu, Ching-Yun

2008-01-01

This study was designed based on a qualitative paradigm to explore the professional development of Taiwanese early childhood educators. The method of phenomenology was employed. The main research question addressed was "How do early childhood educators construe their professional development experience?" Seven Taiwanese early childhood…

Early Years Practitioners' Views on Early Personal, Social and Emotional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aubrey, Carol; Ward, Karen

2013-01-01

Current policy guidance stresses the need for early identification of obstacles to learning and appropriate intervention. New standards for learning (Early Years Foundation Stage) place personal, social and emotional development (PSED) as central to learning and development. This paper reports a survey and follow-up interviews with early years…

Defining the Application Readiness of Products when Developing Earth Observing Remote Sensing Data Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Escobar, V. M.

2017-12-01

Satellite remote sensing technology has contributed to the transformation of multiple earth science domains, putting space observations at the forefront of innovation in Earth Science. With new satellite missions being launched every year, new types of Earth Science data are being incorporated into science models and decision-making systems in a broad array of organizations. These applications help hazard mitigation and decision-making in government, private, and civic institutions working to reduce its impact on human wellbeing. Policy guidance and knowledge of product maturity can influence mission design as well as development of product applications in user organizations. Ensuring that satellite missions serve both the scientific and user communities without becoming unfocused and overly expensive is a critical outcome from engagement of user communities. Tracking the applications and product maturity help improve the use of data. NASA's Applications Readiness Levels reduce cost and increase the confidence in applications. ARLs help identify areas where NASA products are most useful while allowing the user to leverage products in early development as well as those ready for operational uses. By considering the needs of the user community early on in the mission-design process, agencies can use ARLs to ensure that satellites meet the needs of multiple constituencies and the development of products are integrated into user organizations organically. ARLs and user integration provide a perspective on the maturity and readiness of a products ability to influence policy and decision-making. This paper describes the mission application development process at NASA and within the Earth Science Directorate. We present the successes and challenges faced by NASA data users and explain how ARLs helps link NASA science to the appropriate policies and decision frameworks. The methods presented here can be adapted to other programs and institutions seeking to rapidly move

ADP-ribosyl cyclases regulate early development of the sea urchin.

PubMed

Ramakrishnan, Latha; Uhlinger, Kevin; Dale, Leslie; Hamdoun, Amro; Patel, Sandip

2016-06-01

ADP-ribosyl cyclases are multifunctional enzymes involved in the metabolism of nucleotide derivatives necessary for Ca 2+ signalling such as cADPR and NAADP. Although Ca 2+ signalling is a critical regulator of early development, little is known of the role of ADP-ribosyl cyclases during embryogenesis. Here we analyze the expression, activity and function of ADP-ribosyl cyclases in the embryo of the sea urchin - a key organism for study of both Ca 2+ signalling and embryonic development. ADP-ribosyl cyclase isoforms (SpARC1-4) showed unique changes in expression during early development. These changes were associated with an increase in the ratio of cADPR:NAADP production. Over-expression of SpARC4 (a preferential cyclase) disrupted gastrulation. Our data highlight the importance of ADP-ribosyl cyclases during embryogenesis.

Bioecological Theory, Early Child Development and the Validation of the Population-Level Early Development Instrument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guhn, Martin; Goelman, Hillel

2011-01-01

The Early Development Instrument (EDI; Janus and Offord in "Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science" 39:1-22, 2007) project is a Canadian population-level, longitudinal research project, in which teacher ratings of Kindergarten children's early development and wellbeing are linked to health and academic achievement variables at the…

Early Morphological Productivity in Hungarian: Evidence from Sentence Repetition and Elicited Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gabor, Balint; Lukacs, Agnes

2012-01-01

This paper investigates early productivity of morpheme use in Hungarian children aged between 2 ; 1 and 5 ; 3. Hungarian has a rich morphology which is the core marker of grammatical functions. A new method is introduced using the novel word paradigm in a sentence repetition task with masked inflections (i.e. a disguised elicited production task).…

Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development

PubMed Central

Richter, Linda M; Daelmans, Bernadette; Lombardi, Joan; Heymann, Jody; Boo, Florencia Lopez; Behrman, Jere R; Lu, Chunling; Lucas, Jane E; Perez-Escamilla, Rafael; Dua, Tarun; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Stenberg, Karin; Gertler, Paul; Darmstadt, Gary L

2018-01-01

Building on long-term benefits of early intervention (Paper 2 of this Series) and increasing commitment to early childhood development (Paper 1 of this Series), scaled up support for the youngest children is essential to improving health, human capital, and wellbeing across the life course. In this third paper, new analyses show that the burden of poor development is higher than estimated, taking into account additional risk factors. National programmes are needed. Greater political prioritisation is core to scale-up, as are policies that afford families time and financial resources to provide nurturing care for young children. Effective and feasible programmes to support early child development are now available. All sectors, particularly education, and social and child protection, must play a role to meet the holistic needs of young children. However, health provides a critical starting point for scaling up, given its reach to pregnant women, families, and young children. Starting at conception, interventions to promote nurturing care can feasibly build on existing health and nutrition services at limited additional cost. Failure to scale up has severe personal and social consequences. Children at elevated risk for compromised development due to stunting and poverty are likely to forgo about a quarter of average adult income per year, and the cost of inaction to gross domestic product can be double what some countries currently spend on health. Services and interventions to support early childhood development are essential to realising the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals. PMID:27717610

77 FR 9947 - Guidance for Industry: Early Clinical Trials With Live Biotherapeutic Products: Chemistry...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-21

...] Guidance for Industry: Early Clinical Trials With Live Biotherapeutic Products: Chemistry, Manufacturing... ``Guidance for Industry: Early Clinical Trials With Live Biotherapeutic Products: Chemistry, Manufacturing... for Industry: Early Clinical Trials With Live Biotherapeutic Products: Chemistry, Manufacturing, and...

Early development of abstract language knowledge: evidence from perception–production transfer of birth-language memory

PubMed Central

Cutler, Anne; Broersma, Mirjam

2017-01-01

Children adopted early in life into another linguistic community typically forget their birth language but retain, unaware, relevant linguistic knowledge that may facilitate (re)learning of birth-language patterns. Understanding the nature of this knowledge can shed light on how language is acquired. Here, international adoptees from Korea with Dutch as their current language, and matched Dutch-native controls, provided speech production data on a Korean consonantal distinction unlike any Dutch distinctions, at the outset and end of an intensive perceptual training. The productions, elicited in a repetition task, were identified and rated by Korean listeners. Adoptees' production scores improved significantly more across the training period than control participants' scores, and, for adoptees only, relative production success correlated significantly with the rate of learning in perception (which had, as predicted, also surpassed that of the controls). Of the adoptee group, half had been adopted at 17 months or older (when talking would have begun), while half had been prelinguistic (under six months). The former group, with production experience, showed no advantage over the group without. Thus the adoptees' retained knowledge of Korean transferred from perception to production and appears to be abstract in nature rather than dependent on the amount of experience. PMID:28280567

Early Developments, 1998.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Little, Loyd, Ed.

1998-01-01

This document consists of the two 1998 issues of a journal reporting new research in early child development conducted by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In the Spring 1998 issue, articles highlight the Center's diverse cross-cultural projects and global research, training and…

Early Action and Gesture "Vocabulary" and Its Relation with Word Comprehension and Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caselli, Maria Cristina; Rinaldi, Pasquale; Stefanini, Silvia; Volterra, Virginia

2012-01-01

Data from 492 Italian infants (8-18 months) were collected with the parental questionnaire MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories to describe early actions and gestures (A-G) "vocabulary" and its relation with spoken vocabulary in both comprehension and production. A-G were more strongly correlated with word comprehension…

The new role of HSE in chemical product development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Purinton, R.J. Jr.; Manning, T.S.; Dowell, S.

1996-11-01

Today, Health, Safety, and Environmental issues take a more prominent role than ever before in chemical product development for the global oilfield service industry. Prior to widespread regulatory guidelines, technical problems were solved and well treatment programs were developed using the chemicals which performed the best and were the least expensive for the application. HSE concerns were sometimes addressed from a remedial standpoint, rather than a preventive one throughout the process. With a clearer understanding of the potential impact of chemicals upon people and the environment, along with the ever-increasing array of government regulations, service companies are taking a newmore » approach to product development. HSE-related risks and costs are being assessed early and continued throughout chemical development, with both product and treatment process features then designed accordingly. One service company reflects this approach with its {open_quotes}cradle-to-grave{close_quotes} Product Development and Stewardship program. Integral to this program are planned HSE assessments at each step of development, including Feasibility, Lab Development, Field Testing, Manufacturing, and Commercial Field Introduction. These assessments provide the data necessary to {open_quotes}engineer-in{close_quotes} solutions to potential HSE-related problems, produce viable Risk Management Plans, and promote a smoother path to commercialization. This avoids arriving at the commercial launch point with a product which poses unacceptably high personal or environmental risks, may be restricted or banned in key markets, or requires lengthy and expensive government registrations. In order to optimize R&E resources and ensure continuous evaluation, decision points (to continue, modify, or abandon) are built into the process. Early HSE screenings must be accurate but also relatively quick and inexpensive to be meaningful and economical.« less

Earthquake early Warning ShakeAlert system: West coast wide production prototype

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kohler, Monica D.; Cochran, Elizabeth S.; Given, Douglas; Guiwits, Stephen; Neuhauser, Doug; Hensen, Ivan; Hartog, Renate; Bodin, Paul; Kress, Victor; Thompson, Stephen; Felizardo, Claude; Brody, Jeff; Bhadha, Rayo; Schwarz, Stan

2017-01-01

Earthquake early warning (EEW) is an application of seismological science that can give people, as well as mechanical and electrical systems, up to tens of seconds to take protective actions before peak earthquake shaking arrives at a location. Since 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey has been working in collaboration with several partners to develop EEW for the United States. The goal is to create and operate an EEW system, called ShakeAlert, for the highest risk areas of the United States, starting with the West Coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington. In early 2016, the Production Prototype v.1.0 was established for California; then, in early 2017, v.1.2 was established for the West Coast, with earthquake notifications being distributed to a group of beta users in California, Oregon, and Washington. The new ShakeAlert Production Prototype was an outgrowth from an earlier demonstration EEW system that began sending test notifications to selected users in California in January 2012. ShakeAlert leverages the considerable physical, technical, and organizational earthquake monitoring infrastructure of the Advanced National Seismic System, a nationwide federation of cooperating seismic networks. When fully implemented, the ShakeAlert system may reduce damage and injury caused by large earthquakes, improve the nation’s resilience, and speed recovery.

Investing in the foundation of sustainable development: pathways to scale up for early childhood development.

PubMed

Richter, Linda M; Daelmans, Bernadette; Lombardi, Joan; Heymann, Jody; Boo, Florencia Lopez; Behrman, Jere R; Lu, Chunling; Lucas, Jane E; Perez-Escamilla, Rafael; Dua, Tarun; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Stenberg, Karin; Gertler, Paul; Darmstadt, Gary L

2017-01-07

Building on long-term benefits of early intervention (Paper 2 of this Series) and increasing commitment to early childhood development (Paper 1 of this Series), scaled up support for the youngest children is essential to improving health, human capital, and wellbeing across the life course. In this third paper, new analyses show that the burden of poor development is higher than estimated, taking into account additional risk factors. National programmes are needed. Greater political prioritisation is core to scale-up, as are policies that afford families time and financial resources to provide nurturing care for young children. Effective and feasible programmes to support early child development are now available. All sectors, particularly education, and social and child protection, must play a role to meet the holistic needs of young children. However, health provides a critical starting point for scaling up, given its reach to pregnant women, families, and young children. Starting at conception, interventions to promote nurturing care can feasibly build on existing health and nutrition services at limited additional cost. Failure to scale up has severe personal and social consequences. Children at elevated risk for compromised development due to stunting and poverty are likely to forgo about a quarter of average adult income per year, and the cost of inaction to gross domestic product can be double what some countries currently spend on health. Services and interventions to support early childhood development are essential to realising the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biomechanics of Early Cardiac Development

PubMed Central

Goenezen, Sevan; Rennie, Monique Y.

2012-01-01

Biomechanics affect early cardiac development, from looping to the development of chambers and valves. Hemodynamic forces are essential for proper cardiac development, and their disruption leads to congenital heart defects. A wealth of information already exists on early cardiac adaptations to hemodynamic loading, and new technologies, including high resolution imaging modalities and computational modeling, are enabling a more thorough understanding of relationships between hemodynamics and cardiac development. Imaging and modeling approaches, used in combination with biological data on cell behavior and adaptation, are paving the road for new discoveries on links between biomechanics and biology and their effect on cardiac development and fetal programming. PMID:22760547

Developing an inventor support service which performs early stage market and manufacturing evaluations. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1991-10-01

American businesses are learning the difficult high cost lesson of ignoring production and market factors (producibility, unit product cost (UPC), marketability, etc) during the engineering design phase of product development. Studies have shown that the Japanese spend three times as long as Americans in the design feasibility and decision process of new product introductions and one third the amount of time in the implementation of those products. There is a 20 to 1 cost benefit on effort applied in the design phase versus the production phase of the product life cycle. The number one goal of this project was tomore » establish an organization that has, as one of its purposes, the providing of services responsive to the needs of independent inventors. The number two goal was to demonstrate the value of providing marketing and manufacturing counsel at an early stage in the product development process. The first study goal was met by providing the materials and information necessary to establish an evaluation team and an organization to handle such evaluations. The second study goal was met by demonstrating the impact of early market analysis and manufacturing considerations on product design and therefore on the description of the invention for four different inventions. These inventions were selected at various stages of development. Regardless of stage of development, the marketing and manufacturing reviews resulted in significant changes in design and/or market positioning.« less

Developing an inventor support service which performs early stage market and manufacturing evaluations. [Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1991-10-01

American businesses are learning the difficult high cost lesson of ignoring production and market factors (producibility, unit product cost (UPC), marketability, etc) during the engineering design phase of product development. Studies have shown that the Japanese spend three times as long as Americans in the design feasibility and decision process of new product introductions and one third the amount of time in the implementation of those products. There is a 20 to 1 cost benefit on effort applied in the design phase versus the production phase of the product life cycle. The number one goal of this project was tomore » establish an organization that has, as one of its purposes, the providing of services responsive to the needs of independent inventors. The number two goal was to demonstrate the value of providing marketing and manufacturing counsel at an early stage in the product development process. The first study goal was met by providing the materials and information necessary to establish an evaluation team and an organization to handle such evaluations. The second study goal was met by demonstrating the impact of early market analysis and manufacturing considerations on product design and therefore on the description of the invention for four different inventions. These inventions were selected at various stages of development. Regardless of stage of development, the marketing and manufacturing reviews resulted in significant changes in design and/or market positioning.« less

Prenatal concentrations of Perfluoroalkyl substances and early communication development in British girls.

PubMed

Jeddy, Zuha; Hartman, Terryl J; Taylor, Ethel V; Poteete, Cayla; Kordas, Katarzyna

2017-06-01

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), found in many household products and classed as endocrine disrupting chemicals, can be transferred through the placenta and are associated with multiple developmental deficits in offspring. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), we investigated the association between intrauterine exposure to PFAS and early communication development in 432 mother-daughter dyads at 15 and 38months of age. Concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoate (PFNA) were measured in maternal serum collected during pregnancy. Early communication development was measured with the ALSPAC-adapted MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories for Infants and Toddlers. The infant questionnaire measured verbal comprehension, vocabulary comprehension and production, nonverbal communication, and social development. The toddler questionnaire measured language, intelligibility, and communicative sub-scores. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine associations between each PFAS exposure and each communication sub-scale score. The association between maternal PFAS concentrations and early communication development at 15 and 38months of age varied by maternal age at delivery. In daughters of younger mothers (<25years of age), every 1ng/mL of PFOS was associated with a 3.82 point (95% confidence interval (CI): -6.18, -1.47) lower vocabulary score at 15months and a 0.80 point (95% CI: -1.74, 0.14) lower language score at 38months. Prenatal exposure to select PFAS was positively and negatively associated with communication development among girls, with inconsistent pattern of association across all measured PFAS and endpoints. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Prenatal concentrations of Perfluoroalkyl substances and early communication development in British girls

PubMed Central

Jeddy, Zuha; Hartman, Terryl J.; Taylor, Ethel V.; Poteete, Cayla; Kordas, Katarzyna

2017-01-01

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), found in many household products and classed as endocrine disrupting chemicals, can be transferred through the placenta and are associated with multiple developmental deficits in offspring. Using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), we investigated the association between intrauterine exposure to PFAS and early communication development in 432 mother-daughter dyads at 15 and 38 months of age. Concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), and perfluorononanoate (PFNA) were measured in maternal serum collected during pregnancy. Early communication development was measured with the ALSPAC-adapted MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories for Infants and Toddlers. The infant questionnaire measured verbal comprehension, vocabulary comprehension and production, nonverbal communication, and social development. The toddler questionnaire measured language, intelligibility, and communicative subscores. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine associations between each PFAS exposure and each communication sub-scale score. The association between maternal PFAS concentrations and early communication development at 15 and 38 months of age varied by maternal age at delivery. In daughters of younger mothers (< 25 years of age), every 1 ng/mL of PFOS was associated with a 3.82 point (95% confidence interval (CI): −6.18, −1.47) lower vocabulary score at 15 months and a 0.80 point (95% CI: −1.74, 0.14) lower language score at 38 months. Prenatal exposure to select PFAS was positively and negatively associated with communication development among girls, with inconsistent pattern of association across all measured PFAS and endpoints. PMID:28411449

Development and application of a biorelevant dissolution method using USP apparatus 4 in early phase formulation development.

PubMed

Fang, Jiang B; Robertson, Vivian K; Rawat, Archana; Flick, Tawnya; Tang, Zhe J; Cauchon, Nina S; McElvain, James S

2010-10-04

Dissolution testing is frequently used to determine the rate and extent at which a drug is released from a dosage form, and it plays many important roles throughout drug product development. However, the traditional dissolution approach often emphasizes its application in quality control testing and usually strives to obtain 100% drug release. As a result, dissolution methods are not necessarily biorelevant and meaningful application of traditional dissolution methods in the early phases of drug product development can be very limited. This article will describe the development of a biorelevant in vitro dissolution method using USP apparatus 4, biorelevant media, and real-time online UV analysis. Several case studies in the areas of formulation selection, lot-to-lot variability, and food effect will be presented to demonstrate the application of this method in early phase formulation development. This biorelevant dissolution method using USP apparatus 4 provides a valuable tool to predict certain aspects of the in vivo drug release. It can be used to facilitate the formulation development/selection for pharmacokinetic (PK) and clinical studies. It may also potentially be used to minimize the number of PK studies, and to aid in the design of more efficient PK and clinical studies.

Early Childhood Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koh, Edgar, Ed.

1989-01-01

Focused on early childhood development, this "UNICEF Intercom" asserts that developmental programs should aim to give children a fair chance at growth beyond survival. First presented are moral, scientific, social equity, economic, population, and programatic arguments for looking beyond the fundamental objective of saving young lives.…

Subgingival Microbiome Colonization and Cytokine Production during Early Dental Implant Healing.

PubMed

Payne, Jeffrey B; Johnson, Paul G; Kok, Car Reen; Gomes-Neto, João C; Ramer-Tait, Amanda E; Schmid, Marian J; Hutkins, Robert W

2017-01-01

Little is known about longitudinal development of the peri-implant subgingival microbiome and cytokine production as a new sulcus forms after dental implant placement. Therefore, the purpose of this observational study was to evaluate simultaneous longitudinal changes in the oral microbiome and cytokine production in the developing peri-implant sulcus compared to control natural teeth. Four and 12 weeks after implant placement and abutment connection, a dental implant and a natural tooth were sampled in 25 patients for subgingival plaque and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF [around teeth] and peri-implant crevicular fluid [PICF] around implants). DNA from plaque samples was extracted and sequenced using Illumina-based 16S rRNA sequencing. GCF and PICF samples were analyzed using a customized Milliplex human cytokine and chemokine magnetic bead panel. Beta diversity analysis revealed that natural teeth and implants had similar subgingival microbiomes, while teeth had greater alpha diversity than implants. At the genus level, however, few differences were noted between teeth and dental implants over 12 weeks. Specifically, Actinomyces and Selenomonas were significantly elevated around teeth versus dental implants at both 4 weeks and 12 weeks, while Corynebacterium and Campylobacter were significantly elevated only at 4 weeks around teeth. The only difference between PICF and GCF biomarkers was significantly elevated granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor levels around teeth versus dental implants at the 4-week visit. The subgingival microbiome and cytokine production were similar between teeth and implants during early healing, suggesting that these profiles are driven by the patient following dental implant placement and are not determined by anatomical niche. IMPORTANCE Dental implants are a common treatment option offered to patients for tooth replacement. However, little is known regarding initial colonization of the subgingival microbiome and

Adaptation of the quality by design concept in early pharmaceutical development of an intranasal nanosized formulation.

PubMed

Pallagi, Edina; Ambrus, Rita; Szabó-Révész, Piroska; Csóka, Ildikó

2015-08-01

Regulatory science based pharmaceutical development and product manufacturing is highly recommended by the authorities nowadays. The aim of this study was to adapt regulatory science even in the nano-pharmaceutical early development. Authors applied the quality by design (QbD) concept in the early development phase of nano-systems, where the illustration material was meloxicam. The meloxicam nanoparticles produced by co-grinding method for nasal administration were studied according to the QbD policy and the QbD based risk assessment (RA) was performed. The steps were implemented according to the relevant regulatory guidelines (quality target product profile (QTPP) determination, selection of critical quality attributes (CQAs) and critical process parameters (CPPs)) and a special software (Lean QbD Software(®)) was used for the RA, which represents a novelty in this field. The RA was able to predict and identify theoretically the factors (e.g. sample composition, production method parameters, etc.) which have the highest impact on the desired meloxicam-product quality. The results of the practical research justified the theoretical prediction. This method can improve pharmaceutical nano-developments by achieving shorter development time, lower cost, saving human resource efforts and more effective target-orientation. It makes possible focusing the resources on the selected parameters and area during the practical product development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

ECR-MAPK regulation in liver early development.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiu-Ju; Zhuo, Hexian

2014-01-01

Early growth is connected to a key link between embryonic development and aging. In this paper, liver gene expression profiles were assayed at postnatal day 22 and week 16 of age. Meanwhile another independent animal experiment and cell culture were carried out for validation. Significance analysis of microarrays, qPCR verification, drug induction/inhibition assays, and metabonomics indicated that alpha-2u globulin (extracellular region)-socs2 (-SH2-containing signals/receptor tyrosine kinases)-ppp2r2a/pik3c3 (MAPK signaling)-hsd3b5/cav2 (metabolism/organization) plays a vital role in early development. Taken together, early development of male rats is ECR and MAPK-mediated coordination of cancer-like growth and negative regulations. Our data represent the first comprehensive description of early individual development, which could be a valuable basis for understanding the functioning of the gene interaction network of infant development.

Early Program Development

NASA Image and Video Library

1970-01-01

This artist's concept from 1970 shows a Nuclear Shuttle docked to an Orbital Propellant Depot and an early Space Shuttle. As envisioned by Marshall Space Flight Center Program Development plarners, the Nuclear Shuttle, in either manned or unmanned mode, would deliver payloads to lunar orbit or other destinations then return to Earth orbit for refueling and additonal missions.

Non-Specific Microbicide Product Development: Then and Now

PubMed Central

Romano, Joseph W.; Robbiani, Melissa; Doncel, Gustavo F.; Moench, Thomas

2015-01-01

Despite the identification of HIV-1 as the etiological agent responsible for AIDS nearly 30 years ago, a sterilizing vaccine capable of preventing transmission of the virus remains elusive. In response to struggles on the vaccine development front, significant effort has been devoted to preventing the transmission of HIV with alternative products, technologies, and strategies. One of the early alternative HIV prevention strategies was microbicides, which are topical products that can be used to prevent sexual transmission of HIV either vaginally or rectally. First generation microbicide products were designed to be simple gel formulations comprised of readily available active agents that were inexpensive and broadly active (i.e., non-specific). Unfortunately, despite the clinical investigation of multiple product concepts satisfying these requirements, none were shown to be efficacious in pivotal trials. More recently, microbicide and oral prevention strategies involving highly specific and potent anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs have shown to be efficacious in trials. Although building on these successes continues, these products have a number of issues including potential toxicity with long term use, selection of HIV resistance, and cost. Further, all of the original justifications for non-specific microbicide products remain valid. This review provides a brief history of non-specific microbicide development, outlines the evolution to, and limitations of, ARV based microbicides, and summarizes the current activity on non-specific microbicide product development. PMID:22264041

Early childhood development in deprived urban settlements.

PubMed

Nair, M K C; Radhakrishnan, S Rekha

2004-03-01

Poverty, the root cause of the existence of slums or settlement colonies in urban areas has a great impact on almost all aspects of life of the urban poor, especially the all-round development of children. Examples from countries, across the globe provide evidence of improved early child development, made possible through integrated slum improvement programs, are few in numbers. The observed 2.5% prevalence of developmental delay in the less than 2 year olds of deprived urban settlements, the presence of risk factors for developmental delay like low birth weight, birth asphyxia, coupled with poor environment of home and alternate child care services, highlights the need for simple cost effective community model for promoting early child development. This review on early child development focuses on the developmental status of children in the deprived urban settlements, who are yet to be on the priority list of Governments and international agencies working for the welfare of children, the contributory nature-nurture factors and replicable working models like infant stimulation, early detection of developmental delay in infancy itself, developmental screening of toddlers, skill assessment for preschool children, school readiness programs, identification of mental sub-normality and primary education enhancement program for primary school children. Further, the review probes feasible intervention strategies through community owned early child care and development facilities, utilizing existing programs like ICDS, Urban Basic Services and by initiating services like Development Friendly Well Baby Clinics, Community Extension services, Child Development Referral Units at district hospitals and involving trained manpower like anganwadi/creche workers, public health nurses and developmental therapists. With the decentralization process the local self-government at municipalities and city corporations are financially equipped to be the prime movers to initiate, monitor and

Process and product development in the manufacturing of molecular therapeutics.

PubMed

Atkinson, E M; Christensen, J R

1999-08-01

In the development of molecular therapies, a great deal of attention has focused on tissue targets, gene delivery vectors, and expression cassettes. In order to become an approved therapy, however, a molecular therapeutic has to pass down the same product registration pathway as any other biological product. Moving from research into industrial production requires careful attention to regulatory, manufacturing and quality concerns. Early work on developing and characterizing robust and scaleable manufacturing processes will ultimately be rewarded by ease of implementation as the product is successful in clinical trials. Regulatory agencies require solid process and product characterization studies to demonstrate control and understanding of the molecular therapeutic. As the gene therapy industry matures, standards will continue to rise, creating an industry that is capable of producing safe, high-quality and effective therapies for many of the world's most difficult disease targets.

Early Program Development

NASA Image and Video Library

1971-01-01

This 1971 artist's concept shows a Nuclear Shuttle and an early Space Shuttle docked with an Orbital Propellant Depot. As envisioned by Marshall Space Flight Center Program Development persornel, an orbital modular propellant storage depot, supplied periodically by the Space Shuttle or Earth-to-orbit fuel tankers, would be critical in making available large amounts of fuel to various orbital vehicles and spacecraft.

System development and early biological tests in NASA's biomass production chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, R. M.; Mackowiak, C. L.; Dreschel, T. W.; Sager, J. C.; Prince, R. P.; Knott, W. M.; Hinkle, C. R.; Strayer, R. F.

1990-01-01

The Biomass Production Chamber at Kennedy Space Center was constructed to conduct large scale plant growth studies for NASA's CELSS program. Over the past four years, physical systems and computer control software have been continually upgraded and the degree of atmospheric leakage from the chamber has decreased from about 40 to 5 percent of the total volume per day. Early tests conducted with a limited degree of closure showed that total crop (wheat) growth from the best trays was within 80 percent of reported optimal yields for similar light levels. Yields from subsequent tests under more tightly closed conditions have not been as good--up to only 65 percent of optimal yields. Yields appear to have decreased with increasing closure, yet potential problems exist in cultural techniques and further studies are warranted. With the ability to tightly seal the chamber, quantitative data were gathered on CO2 and water exchange rates. Results showed that stand photosynthesis and transpiration reached a peak near 25 days after planting, soon after full vegetative ground cover was established. In the final phase of testing when atmospheric closure was the highest, ethylene gas levels in the chamber rose from about 10 to nearly 120 ppb. Evidence suggests that the ethylene originated from the wheat plants themselves and may have caused an epinastic rolling of the leaves, but no apparent detrimental effects on whole plant function.

Functional groups show distinct differences in nitrogen cycling during early stand development: implications for forest management

Treesearch

Doug P. Aubrey; David R. Coyle; Mark D. Coleman

2012-01-01

Background and aims Nutrient acquisition of forest stands is controlled by soil resource availability and belowground production, but tree species are rarely compared in this regard. Here, we examine ecological and management implications of nitrogen (N) dynamics during early forest stand development in productive commercial tree species with narrow (Populus...

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Small Business Program: A Comprehensive Ecosystem for Biomedical Product Development.

PubMed

Marek, Kurt W

2016-12-01

Small companies working to develop products in the cardiovascular space face numerous challenges, from regulatory, intellectual property, and reimbursement barriers to securing funds to keep the lights on and reach the next development milestone. Most small companies that spin out from universities have the scientific knowledge, but product development expertise and business acumen are also needed to be successful. Other challenges include reduced interest in early stage technologies (Pharma & Biotech 2015 in Review, EP Vantage) and limited deal flow for cardiovascular products (Gormley B., Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2014). The NHLBI small business program is a comprehensive ecosystem designed to address these critical challenges and to provide resources and expertise to assist early stage companies developing cardiovascular and other products within the institute's mission. This article describes steps that NHLBI has taken to enhance our small business program to more effectively translate basic discoveries into commercial products to benefit patients and public health, including enhancing internal expertise and developing non-financial resources to assist small businesses as they develop their products and seek private sector investment and partnership.

Exploiting mAb structure characteristics for a directed QbD implementation in early process development.

PubMed

Karlberg, Micael; von Stosch, Moritz; Glassey, Jarka

2018-03-07

In today's biopharmaceutical industries, the lead time to develop and produce a new monoclonal antibody takes years before it can be launched commercially. The reasons lie in the complexity of the monoclonal antibodies and the need for high product quality to ensure clinical safety which has a significant impact on the process development time. Frameworks such as quality by design are becoming widely used by the pharmaceutical industries as they introduce a systematic approach for building quality into the product. However, full implementation of quality by design has still not been achieved due to attrition mainly from limited risk assessment of product properties as well as the large number of process factors affecting product quality that needs to be investigated during the process development. This has introduced a need for better methods and tools that can be used for early risk assessment and predictions of critical product properties and process factors to enhance process development and reduce costs. In this review, we investigate how the quantitative structure-activity relationships framework can be applied to an existing process development framework such as quality by design in order to increase product understanding based on the protein structure of monoclonal antibodies. Compared to quality by design, where the effect of process parameters on the drug product are explored, quantitative structure-activity relationships gives a reversed perspective which investigates how the protein structure can affect the performance in different unit operations. This provides valuable information that can be used during the early process development of new drug products where limited process understanding is available. Thus, quantitative structure-activity relationships methodology is explored and explained in detail and we investigate the means of directly linking the structural properties of monoclonal antibodies to process data. The resulting information as a

The Development of STAR Early Literacy. Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Renaissance Inst., Inc., Madison, WI.

This report describes the development and testing of a computerized early literacy diagnostic assessment for students in prekindergarten to grade 3 that can measure skills across a variety of preliteracy and reading domains. The STAR Early Literacy assessment was developed by a team of more than 50 people, including literacy experts,…

Critical Issues in Early Childhood Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zaslow, Martha, Ed.; Martinez-Beck, Ivelisse, Ed.

2005-01-01

Effective teaching leads to positive student outcomes, and professional development for early childhood teachers is key to improving both. But what exactly is meant by "professional development"? What effect does it have on school readiness? Which models and approaches really work? This is the book the early childhood field needs to take the…

Nurturing care: promoting early childhood development.

PubMed

Britto, Pia R; Lye, Stephen J; Proulx, Kerrie; Yousafzai, Aisha K; Matthews, Stephen G; Vaivada, Tyler; Perez-Escamilla, Rafael; Rao, Nirmala; Ip, Patrick; Fernald, Lia C H; MacMillan, Harriet; Hanson, Mark; Wachs, Theodore D; Yao, Haogen; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Cerezo, Adrian; Leckman, James F; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

2017-01-07

The UN Sustainable Development Goals provide a historic opportunity to implement interventions, at scale, to promote early childhood development. Although the evidence base for the importance of early childhood development has grown, the research is distributed across sectors, populations, and settings, with diversity noted in both scope and focus. We provide a comprehensive updated analysis of early childhood development interventions across the five sectors of health, nutrition, education, child protection, and social protection. Our review concludes that to make interventions successful, smart, and sustainable, they need to be implemented as multi-sectoral intervention packages anchored in nurturing care. The recommendations emphasise that intervention packages should be applied at developmentally appropriate times during the life course, target multiple risks, and build on existing delivery platforms for feasibility of scale-up. While interventions will continue to improve with the growth of developmental science, the evidence now strongly suggests that parents, caregivers, and families need to be supported in providing nurturing care and protection in order for young children to achieve their developmental potential. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Benchmarks of Product Generation Capabilities of the GOES-R Ground System for Operational Weather Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalluri, S. N.; Haman, B.; Vititoe, D.

2014-12-01

The ground system under development for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) series of weather satellite has completed a key milestone in implementing the science algorithms that process raw sensor data to higher level products in preparation for launch. Real time observations from GOES-R are expected to make significant contributions to Earth and space weather prediction, and there are stringent requirements to product weather products at very low latency to meet NOAA's operational needs. Simulated test data from all the six GOES-R sensors are being processed by the system to test and verify performance of the fielded system. Early results show that the system development is on track to meet functional and performance requirements to process science data. Comparison of science products generated by the ground system from simulated data with those generated by the algorithm developers show close agreement among data sets which demonstrates that the algorithms are implemented correctly. Successful delivery of products to AWIPS and the Product Distribution and Access (PDA) system from the core system demonstrate that the external interfaces are working.

The Development of Self-Regulation across Early Childhood

PubMed Central

Montroy, Janelle J.; Bowles, Ryan P.; Skibbe, Lori E.; McClelland, Megan M.; Morrison, Frederick J.

2016-01-01

The development of early childhood self-regulation is often considered an early life marker for later life successes. Yet little longitudinal research has evaluated whether there are different trajectories of self-regulation development across children. This study investigates the development of behavioral self-regulation between the ages of three and seven, with a direct focus on possible heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories, and a set of potential indicators that distinguish unique behavioral self-regulation trajectories. Across three diverse samples, 1,386 children were assessed on behavioral self-regulation from preschool through first grade. Results indicated that majority of children develop self-regulation rapidly during early childhood, and that children follow three distinct developmental patterns of growth. These three trajectories were distinguishable based on timing of rapid gains, as well as child gender, early language skills, and maternal education levels. Findings highlight early developmental differences in how self-regulation unfolds with implications for offering individualized support across children. PMID:27709999

Production and recycling of oceanic crust in the early Earth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Thienen, P.; van den Berg, A. P.; Vlaar, N. J.

2004-08-01

Because of the strongly different conditions in the mantle of the early Earth regarding temperature and viscosity, present-day geodynamics cannot simply be extrapolated back to the early history of the Earth. We use numerical thermochemical convection models including partial melting and a simple mechanism for melt segregation and oceanic crust production to investigate an alternative suite of dynamics which may have been in operation in the early Earth. Our modelling results show three processes that may have played an important role in the production and recycling of oceanic crust: (1) Small-scale ( x×100 km) convection involving the lower crust and shallow upper mantle. Partial melting and thus crustal production takes place in the upwelling limb and delamination of the eclogitic lower crust in the downwelling limb. (2) Large-scale resurfacing events in which (nearly) the complete crust sinks into the (eventually lower) mantle, thereby forming a stable reservoir enriched in incompatible elements in the deep mantle. New crust is simultaneously formed at the surface from segregating melt. (3) Intrusion of lower mantle diapirs with a high excess temperature (about 250 K) into the upper mantle, causing massive melting and crustal growth. This allows for plumes in the Archean upper mantle with a much higher excess temperature than previously expected from theoretical considerations.

Early Numeracy Assessment: The Development of the Preschool Early Numeracy Scales

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Purpura, David J.; Lonigan, Christopher J.

2015-01-01

Research Findings: The focus of this study was to construct and validate 12 brief early numeracy assessment tasks that measure the skills and concepts identified as key to early mathematics development by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2006) and the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008)-as well as critical developmental…

Early Literacy and Early Numeracy: The Value of Including Early Literacy Skills in the Prediction of Numeracy Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Purpura, David J.; Hume, Laura E.; Sims, Darcey M.; Lonigan, Cristopher J.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine whether early literacy skills uniquely predict early numeracy skills development. During the first year of the study, 69 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers were assessed on the Preschool Early Numeracy Skills (PENS) test and the Test of Preschool Early Literacy Skills (TOPEL). Participants were assessed again a…

Kentucky's Statewide Early Childhood Professional Development System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rous, Beth; Grove, Jaime; Townley, Kim

2007-01-01

Public school systems have recently become major players in providing services for children in their early years. In addition, a number of other services are available to young children including child care, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs. The link between program quality and professional development of early care and education…

Early literacy and early numeracy: the value of including early literacy skills in the prediction of numeracy development.

PubMed

Purpura, David J; Hume, Laura E; Sims, Darcey M; Lonigan, Christopher J

2011-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine whether early literacy skills uniquely predict early numeracy skills development. During the first year of the study, 69 3- to 5-year-old preschoolers were assessed on the Preschool Early Numeracy Skills (PENS) test and the Test of Preschool Early Literacy Skills (TOPEL). Participants were assessed again a year later on the PENS test and on the Applied Problems and Calculation subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Three mixed effect regressions were conducted using Time 2 PENS, Applied Problems, and Calculation as the dependent variables. Print Knowledge and Vocabulary accounted for unique variance in the prediction of Time 2 numeracy scores. Phonological Awareness did not uniquely predict any of the mathematics domains. The findings of this study identify an important link between early literacy and early numeracy development. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pharma Success in Product Development—Does Biotechnology Change the Paradigm in Product Development and Attrition.

PubMed

Evens, Ronald P

2016-01-01

The biotechnology segment of the overall biopharma industry has existed for only about 40–45 years, as a driver of new product development. This driving force was initiated with the FDA approval of recombinant human insulin in 1982, originating from the Genentech company. The pharma industry in the early years of 1970s and 1980s engaged with biotechnology companies only to a small extent with their in-licensing of a few recombinant molecules, led by Roche, Eli Lilly, and Johnson and Johnson. However, subsequently and dramatically over the last 25 years, biotechnology has become a primary driver of product and technology innovation and has become a cornerstone in new product development by all biopharma companies. This review demonstrates these evolutionary changes regarding approved products, product pipelines, novelty of the products, FDA approval rates, product sales, financial R&D investments in biotechnology, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, and patent issues. We now have about 300 biotechnology products approved in USA covering 16 medical disciplines and about 250 indications, with the engagement of 25 pharma companies, along with their biotechnology company innovators and partners. The biotechnology pipeline involves over 1000 molecules in clinical trials, including over 300 molecules associated with the top 10 pharma companies. Product approval rates by the FDA for biotechnology products are over double the rate for drugs. Yes, the R&D paradigm has changed with biotechnology now as one of the major focuses for new product development with novel molecules by the whole biopharma industry.

Activin B is produced early in antral follicular development and suppresses thecal androgen production

PubMed Central

Young, J M; Henderson, S; Souza, C; Ludlow, H; Groome, N; McNeilly, A S

2012-01-01

Little is known about the role of activin B during folliculogenesis. This study investigated the expression levels of activin/inhibin subunits (βA, βB, and α), steroid enzyme, and gonadotrophin receptors in theca (TC) and granulosa cells (GC) by QPCR and activin A and B and inhibin A protein levels in follicular fluid (FF) of developing sheep follicles during estrus and anestrus. The effect of activin B on androgen production from primary TC cultures in vitro was also assessed. During folliculogenesis, in anestrus and estrus, FF activin B concentrations and thecal and GC activin βB mRNA levels decreased as follicle diameter increased from 1–3 to >6 mm regardless of estrogenic status. Estrogenic preovulatory follicles had reduced concentrations of FF activins B and A, and TC and GCs expressed higher levels of activin βA mRNA at 3–4 mm, and TCs more inhibin α mRNA at >4 mm stages of development compared with nonestrogenic follicles. Activin B decreased androstenedione production from primary TCs in vitro, an effect blocked by inhibin A. Thus, sheep follicles 1–3 mm in diameter contained high FF levels of activin B, which decreased as the follicle size increased, and, like activin A, suppressed thecal androgen production in vitro, an effect blocked by inhibin. Furthermore, the theca of large estrogenic follicles expressed high levels of inhibin α and activin βA mRNA suggesting local thecal derived inhibin A production. This would inhibit the negative effects of thecal activins B and A ensuring maximum androgen production for enhanced estradiol production by the preovulatory follicle(s). PMID:22450673

Validation of the second version of the LittlEARS® Early Speech Production Questionnaire (LEESPQ) in German-speaking children with normal hearing.

PubMed

Keilmann, Annerose; Friese, Barbara; Lässig, Anne; Hoffmann, Vanessa

2018-04-01

The introduction of neonatal hearing screening and the increasingly early age at which children can receive a cochlear implant has intensified the need for a validated questionnaire to assess the speech production of children aged 0‒18. Such a questionnaire has been created, the LittlEARS ® Early Speech Production Questionnaire (LEESPQ). This study aimed to validate a second, revised edition of the LEESPQ. Questionnaires were returned for 362 children with normal hearing. Completed questionnaires were analysed to determine if the LEESPQ is reliable, prognostically accurate, internally consistent, and if gender or multilingualism affects total scores. Total scores correlated positively with age. The LEESPQ is reliable, accurate, and consistent, and independent of gender or lingual status. A norm curve was created. This second version of the LEESPQ is a valid tool to assess the speech production development of children with normal hearing, aged 0‒18, regardless of their gender. As such, the LEESPQ may be a useful tool to monitor the development of paediatric hearing device users. The second version of the LEESPQ is a valid instrument for assessing early speech production of children aged 0‒18 months.

The Development of Self-Regulation across Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Montroy, Janelle J.; Bowles, Ryan P.; Skibbe, Lori E.; McClelland, Megan M.; Morrison, Frederick J.

2016-01-01

The development of early childhood self-regulation is often considered an early life marker for later life successes. Yet little longitudinal research has evaluated whether there are different trajectories of self-regulation development across children. This study investigates the development of behavioral self-regulation between the ages of 3 and…

Challenges in early clinical development of adjuvanted vaccines.

PubMed

Della Cioppa, Giovanni; Jonsdottir, Ingileif; Lewis, David

2015-06-08

A three-step approach to the early development of adjuvanted vaccine candidates is proposed, the goal of which is to allow ample space for exploratory and hypothesis-generating human experiments and to select dose(s) and dosing schedule(s) to bring into full development. Although the proposed approach is more extensive than the traditional early development program, the authors suggest that by addressing key questions upfront the overall time, size and cost of development will be reduced and the probability of public health advancement enhanced. The immunogenicity end-points chosen for early development should be critically selected: an established immunological parameter with a well characterized assay should be selected as primary end-point for dose and schedule finding; exploratory information-rich end-points should be limited in number and based on pre-defined hypothesis generating plans, including system biology and pathway analyses. Building a pharmacodynamic profile is an important aspect of early development: to this end, multiple early (within 24h) and late (up to one year) sampling is necessary, which can be accomplished by sampling subgroups of subjects at different time points. In most cases the final target population, even if vulnerable, should be considered for inclusion in early development. In order to obtain the multiple formulations necessary for the dose and schedule finding, "bed-side mixing" of various components of the vaccine is often necessary: this is a complex and underestimated area that deserves serious research and logistical support. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Breastfeeding, parenting, and early cognitive development.

PubMed

Gibbs, Benjamin G; Forste, Renata

2014-03-01

To explain why breastfeeding is associated with children's cognitive development. By using a nationally representative longitudinal survey of early childhood (N = 7500), we examined how breastfeeding practices, the early introduction of solid foods, and putting an infant to bed with a bottle were associated with cognitive development across early childhood. We also explored whether this link can be explained by parenting behaviors and maternal education. There is a positive relationship between predominant breastfeeding for 3 months or more and child reading skills, but this link is the result of cognitively supportive parenting behaviors and greater levels of education among women who predominantly breastfed. We found little-to-no relationship between infant feeding practices and the cognitive development of children with less-educated mothers. Instead, reading to a child every day and being sensitive to a child's development were significant predictors of math and reading readiness outcomes. Although breastfeeding has important benefits in other settings, the encouragement of breastfeeding to promote school readiness does not appear to be a key intervention point. Promoting parenting behaviors that improve child cognitive development may be a more effective and direct strategy for practitioners to adopt, especially for disadvantaged children. Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

The development of self-regulation across early childhood.

PubMed

Montroy, Janelle J; Bowles, Ryan P; Skibbe, Lori E; McClelland, Megan M; Morrison, Frederick J

2016-11-01

The development of early childhood self-regulation is often considered an early life marker for later life successes. Yet little longitudinal research has evaluated whether there are different trajectories of self-regulation development across children. This study investigates the development of behavioral self-regulation between the ages of 3 and 7 years, with a direct focus on possible heterogeneity in the developmental trajectories, and a set of potential indicators that distinguish unique behavioral self-regulation trajectories. Across 3 diverse samples, 1,386 children were assessed on behavioral self-regulation from preschool through first grade. Results indicated that majority of children develop self-regulation rapidly during early childhood, and that children follow 3 distinct developmental patterns of growth. These 3 trajectories were distinguishable based on timing of rapid gains, as well as child gender, early language skills, and maternal education levels. Findings highlight early developmental differences in how self-regulation unfolds, with implications for offering individualized support across children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Early Vascular Ageing - A Concept in Development.

PubMed

M Nilsson, Peter

2015-04-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a prevalent condition in the elderly, often associated with metabolic disturbance and type 2 diabetes. For a number of years, research dedicated to understand atherosclerosis dominated, and for many good reasons, this pathophysiological process being proximal to the CVD events. In recent years, research has been devoted to an earlier stage of vascular pathology named arteriosclerosis (arterial stiffness) and the new concept of early vascular ageing (EVA), developed by a group of mostly European researchers. This overview describes recent developments in research dedicated to EVA and new emerging aspects found in studies of families at high cardiovascular risk. There are new aspects related to genetics, telomere biology and the role of gut microbiota. However, there is still no unifying definition available of EVA and no direct treatment, but rather only recommendations for conventional cardiovascular risk factor control. New interventions are being developed - not only new antihypertensive drugs, but also new drugs for vascular protection - the selective angiotensin-II (AT2) agonist Compound 21 (C21). Human studies are eagerly awaited. Even new functional food products could have the potential to positively influence cardiometabolic regulation, to be confirmed.

Optimization of Primary Drying in Lyophilization during Early Phase Drug Development using a Definitive Screening Design with Formulation and Process Factors.

PubMed

Goldman, Johnathan M; More, Haresh T; Yee, Olga; Borgeson, Elizabeth; Remy, Brenda; Rowe, Jasmine; Sadineni, Vikram

2018-06-08

Development of optimal drug product lyophilization cycles is typically accomplished via multiple engineering runs to determine appropriate process parameters. These runs require significant time and product investments, which are especially costly during early phase development when the drug product formulation and lyophilization process are often defined simultaneously. Even small changes in the formulation may require a new set of engineering runs to define lyophilization process parameters. In order to overcome these development difficulties, an eight factor definitive screening design (DSD), including both formulation and process parameters, was executed on a fully human monoclonal antibody (mAb) drug product. The DSD enables evaluation of several interdependent factors to define critical parameters that affect primary drying time and product temperature. From these parameters, a lyophilization development model is defined where near optimal process parameters can be derived for many different drug product formulations. This concept is demonstrated on a mAb drug product where statistically predicted cycle responses agree well with those measured experimentally. This design of experiments (DoE) approach for early phase lyophilization cycle development offers a workflow that significantly decreases the development time of clinically and potentially commercially viable lyophilization cycles for a platform formulation that still has variable range of compositions. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

User Experience Evaluation Methods in Product Development (UXEM'09)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roto, Virpi; Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, Kaisa; Law, Effie; Vermeeren, Arnold

High quality user experience (UX) has become a central competitive factor of product development in mature consumer markets [1]. Although the term UX originated from industry and is a widely used term also in academia, the tools for managing UX in product development are still inadequate. A prerequisite for designing delightful UX in an industrial setting is to understand both the requirements tied to the pragmatic level of functionality and interaction and the requirements pertaining to the hedonic level of personal human needs, which motivate product use [2]. Understanding these requirements helps managers set UX targets for product development. The next phase in a good user-centered design process is to iteratively design and evaluate prototypes [3]. Evaluation is critical for systematically improving UX. In many approaches to UX, evaluation basically needs to be postponed until the product is fully or at least almost fully functional. However, in an industrial setting, it is very expensive to find the UX failures only at this phase of product development. Thus, product development managers and developers have a strong need to conduct UX evaluation as early as possible, well before all the parts affecting the holistic experience are available. Different types of products require evaluation on different granularity and maturity levels of a prototype. For example, due to its multi-user characteristic, a community service or an enterprise resource planning system requires a broader scope of UX evaluation than a microwave oven or a word processor that is meant for a single user at a time. Before systematic UX evaluation can be taken into practice, practical, lightweight UX evaluation methods suitable for different types of products and different phases of product readiness are needed. A considerable amount of UX research is still about the conceptual frameworks and models for user experience [4]. Besides, applying existing usability evaluation methods (UEMs) without

Implications of intelligent, integrated microsystems for product design and development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

MYERS,DAVID R.; MCWHORTER,PAUL J.

2000-04-19

Intelligent, integrated microsystems combine some or all of the functions of sensing, processing information, actuation, and communication within a single integrated package, and preferably upon a single silicon chip. As the elements of these highly integrated solutions interact strongly with each other, the microsystem can be neither designed nor fabricated piecemeal, in contrast to the more familiar assembled products. Driven by technological imperatives, microsystems will best be developed by multi-disciplinary teams, most likely within the flatter, less hierarchical organizations. Standardization of design and process tools around a single, dominant technology will expedite economically viable operation under a common production infrastructure.more » The production base for intelligent, integrated microsystems has elements in common with the mathematical theory of chaos. Similar to chaos theory, the development of microsystems technology will be strongly dependent on, and optimized to, the initial product requirements that will drive standardization--thereby further rewarding early entrants to integrated microsystem technology.« less

EARLY FLOWERING3 Regulates Flowering in Spring Barley by Mediating Gibberellin Production and FLOWERING LOCUS T Expression[C][W

PubMed Central

Boden, Scott A.; Weiss, David; Ross, John J.; Davies, Noel W.; Trevaskis, Ben; Chandler, Peter M.; Swain, Steve M.

2014-01-01

EARLY FLOWERING3 (ELF3) is a circadian clock gene that contributes to photoperiod-dependent flowering in plants, with loss-of-function mutants in barley (Hordeum vulgare), legumes, and Arabidopsis thaliana flowering early under noninductive short-day (SD) photoperiods. The barley elf3 mutant displays increased expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T1 (FT1); however, it remains unclear whether this is the only factor responsible for the early flowering phenotype. We show that the early flowering and vegetative growth phenotypes of the barley elf3 mutant are strongly dependent on gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis. Expression of the central GA biosynthesis gene, GA20oxidase2, and production of the bioactive GA, GA1, were significantly increased in elf3 leaves under SDs, relative to the wild type. Inhibition of GA biosynthesis suppressed the early flowering of elf3 under SDs independently of FT1 and was associated with altered expression of floral identity genes at the developing apex. GA is also required for normal flowering of spring barley under inductive photoperiods, with chemical and genetic attenuation of the GA biosynthesis and signaling pathways suppressing inflorescence development under long-day conditions. These findings illustrate that GA is an important floral promoting signal in barley and that ELF3 suppresses flowering under noninductive photoperiods by blocking GA production and FT1 expression. PMID:24781117

Career Benchmarks From the Burroughs Wellcome Fund's Early Faculty Career Development Awards.

PubMed

McGovern, Victoria; Kramarik, Jean; Wilkins, Gary

2013-11-01

Documenting the career characteristics of a highly selective group of researchers provides some insight into how a successful career begins. This knowledge is of value to early-career faculty and those who evaluate them, as well as trainees who aspire to the professoriate and those who educate them. In 2010, the authors extracted information by hand from the curricula vitae of 196 basic scientists who have been supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund's early faculty career development programs from 1982 to 2010. Data were collected on awardees' education, awards and honors, funding, promotion, publication, service, and training activities. The end point for data was December 2010. Analyses quantified participants' time to terminal degree, faculty appointment, and first R01; determined their publication productivity; and calculated their rates of training graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. This group moved into jobs and gained first R01s faster than average. Surprisingly, those who train the most students and fellows do not publish the most. Women and men trained different numbers of undergraduates, PhDs, and postdocs. Women awardees had fewer publications on average than men. Researchers who are highly competitive at the early faculty career stage have generally been both timely in their arrival at important benchmarks and productive in terms of their scientific output. Newly trained researchers and the people and institutions that train them share responsibility for attaining expeditious progress, developing a substantial track record, and staking out fertile intellectual ground from which to grow an independent faculty career.

Next Generation Biopharmaceuticals: Product Development.

PubMed

Mathaes, Roman; Mahler, Hanns-Christian

2018-04-11

Therapeutic proteins show a rapid market growth. The relatively young biotech industry already represents 20 % of the total global pharma market. The biotech industry environment has traditionally been fast-pasted and intellectually stimulated. Nowadays the top ten best selling drugs are dominated by monoclonal antibodies (mABs).Despite mABs being the biggest medical breakthrough in the last 25 years, technical innovation does not stand still.The goal remains to preserve the benefits of a conventional mAB (serum half-life and specificity) whilst further improving efficacy and safety and to open new and better avenues for treating patients, e.g., improving the potency of molecules, target binding, tissue penetration, tailored pharmacokinetics, and reduced adverse effects or immunogenicity.The next generation of biopharmaceuticals can pose specific chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) challenges. In contrast to conventional proteins, next-generation biopharmaceuticals often require lyophilization of the final drug product to ensure storage stability over shelf-life time. In addition, next-generation biopharmaceuticals require analytical methods that cover different ways of possible degradation patterns and pathways, and product development is a long way from being straight forward. The element of "prior knowledge" does not exist equally for most novel formats compared to antibodies, and thus the assessment of critical quality attributes (CQAs) and the definition of CQA assessment criteria and specifications is difficult, especially in early-stage development.

Ontogenetic development in the morphology and behavior of loach ( Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) during early life stages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Lei; Duan, Ming; Cheng, Fei; Xie, Songguang

2014-09-01

Loach ( Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) are a commercially important fish in China and an ideal aquaculture species. However, culturists experience high larval and juvenile mortality during mass production. To provide insight into ways to improve larviculture techniques, we describe the morphological characteristics and behavior of loach during the larval and early juvenile stages. Yolksac larvae ranged from 2.8 to 4.0 mm body length (BL) between days 0 to 4; preflexion larvae ranged from 3.6 to 5.5 mm BL between days 4 to 6; flexion larvae ranged from 4.8 to 8.1 mm BL between days 5 and 14; and postflexion larvae ranged from 7.1 to 15.7 mm BL between days 11 to 27; the minimum length and age of juveniles was 14.1 mm BL and 23 d, respectively. Loach are demersal from hatch through to the early juvenile stages. A suite of morphological characteristics (e.g., external gill filament and ventral mouth opening) and behavioral traits have developed to adapt to demersal living. We observed positive allometric growth in eye diameter, head length, head height, and pectoral fin length during the early larval stages, reflecting the priorities in the development of the organs essential for survival. Our results provide a basis for developing techniques to improve the survival of larval and juvenile loach during mass production.

Telomere lengthening early in development.

PubMed

Liu, Lin; Bailey, Susan M; Okuka, Maja; Muñoz, Purificación; Li, Chao; Zhou, Lingjun; Wu, Chao; Czerwiec, Eva; Sandler, Laurel; Seyfang, Andreas; Blasco, Maria A; Keefe, David L

2007-12-01

Stem cells and cancer cells maintain telomere length mostly through telomerase. Telomerase activity is high in male germ line and stem cells, but is low or absent in mature oocytes and cleavage stage embryos, and then high again in blastocysts. How early embryos reset telomere length remains poorly understood. Here, we show that oocytes actually have shorter telomeres than somatic cells, but their telomeres lengthen remarkably during early cleavage development. Moreover, parthenogenetically activated oocytes also lengthen their telomeres, thus the capacity to elongate telomeres must reside within oocytes themselves. Notably, telomeres also elongate in the early cleavage embryos of telomerase-null mice, demonstrating that telomerase is unlikely to be responsible for the abrupt lengthening of telomeres in these cells. Coincident with telomere lengthening, extensive telomere sister-chromatid exchange (T-SCE) and colocalization of the DNA recombination proteins Rad50 and TRF1 were observed in early cleavage embryos. Both T-SCE and DNA recombination proteins decrease in blastocyst stage embryos, whereas telomerase activity increases and telomeres elongate only slowly. We suggest that telomeres lengthen during the early cleavage cycles following fertilization through a recombination-based mechanism, and that from the blastocyst stage onwards, telomerase only maintains the telomere length established by this alternative mechanism.

Early Intervention Paraprofessional Standards: Development and Field Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Banerjee, Rashida; Chopra, Ritu V.; DiPalma, Geraldine

2017-01-01

Personnel standards are the foundations for how states and nations approve a program, engage in systemic assessment, and provide effective professional development to its early childhood professionals. However, despite the extensive use of paraprofessionals in early intervention/early childhood special education programs, there is a lack of…

Early executive function predicts reasoning development.

PubMed

Richland, Lindsey E; Burchinal, Margaret R

2013-01-01

Analogical reasoning is a core cognitive skill that distinguishes humans from all other species and contributes to general fluid intelligence, creativity, and adaptive learning capacities. Yet its origins are not well understood. In the study reported here, we analyzed large-scale longitudinal data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development to test predictors of growth in analogical-reasoning skill from third grade to adolescence. Our results suggest an integrative resolution to the theoretical debate regarding contributory factors arising from smaller-scale, cross-sectional experiments on analogy development. Children with greater executive-function skills (both composite and inhibitory control) and vocabulary knowledge in early elementary school displayed higher scores on a verbal analogies task at age 15 years, even after adjusting for key covariates. We posit that knowledge is a prerequisite to analogy performance, but strong executive-functioning resources during early childhood are related to long-term gains in fundamental reasoning skills.

A Framework for Evaluating R&D Impacts and Supply Chain Dynamics Early in a Product Life Cycle. Looking inside the black box of innovation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jordan, Gretchen; Mote, Jonathan; Ruegg, Rosalie

This report provides a framework for evaluation of R&D investments aimed at speeding up the pace of innovation and strengthening domestic manufacturing and supply chains, which make up a portion of the investments of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOEs) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). These investments focus on early phases of the product life cycle, characterized as extending from pre-product, late stage R&D, to initial product introduction and through to early market growth. The investments aim to provide support for additional technology, supply-chain, manufacturing, and early market development to enhance or create markets for clean energymore » technologies and strengthen the U.S. industry base.« less

Early anther ablation triggers parthenocarpic fruit development in tomato.

PubMed

Medina, Mónica; Roque, Edelín; Pineda, Benito; Cañas, Luis; Rodriguez-Concepción, Manuel; Beltrán, José Pío; Gómez-Mena, Concepción

2013-08-01

Fruit set and fruit development in tomato is largely affected by changes in environmental conditions, therefore autonomous fruit set independent of fertilization is a highly desirable trait in tomato. Here, we report the production and characterization of male-sterile transgenic plants that produce parthenocarpic fruits in two tomato cultivars (Micro-Tom and Moneymaker). We generated male-sterility using the cytotoxic gene barnase targeted to the anthers with the PsEND1 anther-specific promoter. The ovaries of these plants grew in the absence of fertilization producing seedless, parthenocarpic fruits. Early anther ablation is essential to trigger the developing of the transgenic ovaries into fruits, in the absence of the signals usually generated during pollination and fertilization. Ovaries are fully functional and can be manually pollinated to obtain seeds. The transgenic plants obtained in the commercial cultivar Moneymaker show that the parthenocarpic development of the fruit does not have negative consequences in fruit quality. Throughout metabolomic analyses of the tomato fruits, we have identified two elite lines which showed increased levels of several health promoting metabolites and volatile compounds. Thus, early anther ablation can be considered a useful tool to promote fruit set and to obtain seedless and good quality fruits in tomato plants. These plants are also useful parental lines to be used in hybrid breeding approaches. © 2013 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Investments for Future: Early Childhood Development and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kartal, Hulya

2007-01-01

Investments relevant to the first years of life are directly connected to the future of societies. It can be argued that investments for early childhood development and education are one of the best ways of decreasing social inequality caused by adverse environments which hinder development in early ages and tackling poverty by reducing the rate…

Early Development and the Brain: Teaching Resources for Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilkerson, Linda, Ed.; Klein, Rebecca, Ed.

2008-01-01

This nine-unit curriculum translates current scientific research on early brain development into practical suggestions to help early childhood professionals understand the reciprocal link between caregiving and brain development. The curriculum was created and extensively field-tested by the Erikson Institute Faculty Development Project on the…

Production-perception relationships during speech development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menard, Lucie; Schwartz, Jean-Luc; Boe, Louis-Jean; Aubin, Jerome

2005-04-01

It has been shown that nonuniform growth of the supraglottal cavities, motor control development, and perceptual refinement shape the vowel systems during speech development. In this talk, we propose to investigate the role of perceptual constraints as a guide to the speakers task from birth to adulthood. Simulations with an articulatory-to-acoustic model, acoustic analyses of natural vowels, and results of perceptual tests provide evidence that the production-perception relationships evolve with age. At the perceptual level, results show that (i) linear combination of spectral peaks are good predictors of vowel targets, and (ii) focalization, defined as an acoustic pattern with close neighboring formants [J.-L. Schwartz, L.-J. Boe, N. Vallee, and C. Abry, J. Phonetics 25, 255-286 (1997)], is part of the speech task. At the production level, we propose that (i) frequently produced vowels in the baby's early sound inventory can in part be explained by perceptual templates, (ii) the achievement of these perceptual templates may require adaptive articulatory strategies for the child, compared with the adults, to cope with morphological differences. Results are discussed in the light of a perception for action control theory. [Work supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Cosmic ray models for early galactic lithium, beryllium, and boron production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fields, Brian D.; Olive, Keith A.; Schramm, David N.

1994-01-01

To better understand the early galactic production of Li, Be, and B by cosmic ray spallation and fusion reactions, the dependence of these production rates on cosmic ray models and model parameters is examined. The sensitivity of elemental and isotropic production to the cosmic ray pathlength magnitude and energy dependence, source spectrum spallation kinematics, and cross section uncertainties is studied. Changes in these model features, particularly those features related to confinement, are shown to alter the Be- and B-versus-Fe slopes from a naive quadratic relation. The implications of our results for the diffuse gamma-ray background are examined, and the role of chemical evolution and its relation to our results is noted. It is also noted that the unmeasured high energy behavior of alpha + alpha fusion can lead to effects as large as a factor of 2 in the resultant yields. Future data should enable Population II Li, Be, and B abundances to constrain cosmic ray models for the early Galaxy.

Cosmic-ray models for early Galactic Lithium, Beryllium, and Boron production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fields, Brian D.; Olive, Keith A.; Schramm, David N.

1994-01-01

To understand better the early Galactic production of Li, Be, and B by comsmic-ray spallation and fusion reactions, the dependence of these production rates on cosmic-ray models and model parameters is examined. The sensitivity of elemental and isotopic production to the cosmic-ray path length magnitude and energy dependence, source spectrum, spallation kinematics, and cross section uncertainties is studied. Changes in these model features, particularly those features related to confinement, are shown to alter the Be- and B- versus-Fe slopes from a naive quadratic relation. The implications of our results for the diffuse gamma-ray background are examined, and the role of chemical evolution and its relation to our results is noted. It is also noted that the unmeasured high-energy behavior of alpha + alpha fusion can lead to effects as large as a factor of 2 in the resultant yields. Future data should enable Population II Li, Be, and B abundances to constrain cosmic-ray models for the early Galaxy.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. The developmental dynamics of marmoset monkey vocal production.

PubMed

Takahashi, D Y; Fenley, A R; Teramoto, Y; Narayanan, D Z; Borjon, J I; Holmes, P; Ghazanfar, A A

2015-08-14

Human vocal development occurs through two parallel interactive processes that transform infant cries into more mature vocalizations, such as cooing sounds and babbling. First, natural categories of sounds change as the vocal apparatus matures. Second, parental vocal feedback sensitizes infants to certain features of those sounds, and the sounds are modified accordingly. Paradoxically, our closest living ancestors, nonhuman primates, are thought to undergo few or no production-related acoustic changes during development, and any such changes are thought to be impervious to social feedback. Using early and dense sampling, quantitative tracking of acoustic changes, and biomechanical modeling, we showed that vocalizations in infant marmoset monkeys undergo dramatic changes that cannot be solely attributed to simple consequences of growth. Using parental interaction experiments, we found that contingent parental feedback influences the rate of vocal development. These findings overturn decades-old ideas about primate vocalizations and show that marmoset monkeys are a compelling model system for early vocal development in humans. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Developing an automatic classification system of vegetation anomalies for early warning with the ASAP (Anomaly hot Spots of Agricultural Production) system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meroni, M.; Rembold, F.; Urbano, F.; Lemoine, G.

2016-12-01

Anomaly maps and time profiles of remote sensing derived indicators relevant to monitor crop and vegetation stress can be accessed online thanks to a rapidly growing number of web based portals. However, timely and systematic global analysis and coherent interpretation of such information, as it is needed for example for SDG 2 related monitoring, remains challenging. With the ASAP system (Anomaly hot Spots of Agricultural Production) we propose a two-step analysis to provide monthly warning of production deficits in water-limited agriculture worldwide. The first step is fully automated and aims at classifying each administrative unit (1st sub-national level) into a number of possible warning levels, ranging from "none" to "watch" and up to "extended alarm". The second step involves the verification of the automatic warnings and integration into a short national level analysis by agricultural analysts. In this paper we describe the methodological development of the automatic vegetation anomaly classification system. Warnings are triggered only during the crop growing season, defined by a remote sensing based phenology. The classification takes into consideration the fraction of the agricultural and rangelands area for each administrative unit that is affected by a severe anomaly of two rainfall-based indicators (the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), computed at 1 and 3-month scale) and one biophysical indicator (the cumulative NDVI from the start of the growing season). The severity of the warning thus depends on the timing, the nature and the number of indicators for which an anomaly is detected. The prototype system is using global NDVI images of the METOP sensor, while a second version is being developed based on 1km Modis NDVI with temporal smoothing and near real time filtering. Also a specific water balance model is under development to include agriculture water stress information in addition to the SPI. The monthly warning classification and crop

Early adolescent childbearing in low- and middle-income countries: associations with income inequity, human development and gender equality.

PubMed

Decker, Michele R; Kalamar, Amanda; Tunçalp, Özge; Hindin, Michelle J

2017-03-01

Reducing unwanted adolescent childbearing is a global priority. Little is known about how national-level economic and human development indicators relate to early adolescent childbearing. This ecological study evaluates associations of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GINI index, Human Development Index (HDI) and Gender-related Development Index (GDI; i.e. the HDI adjusted for gender disparities) with early adolescent childbearing in 27 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across three time periods. Among women ages 18–24, prevalence estimates for early birth (<16 years) were calculated by nation, and weighted linear regressions evaluated associations between national indicators and early childbearing. To examine temporal trends, analyses were stratified by year groupings. Early adolescent childbearing declined over time, with the greatest change observed in Bangladesh (31.49% in 1996/7 to 19.69% in 2011). In adjusted models, GDI was negatively associated with early childbearing, i.e. early childbearing prevalence decreased as GDI increased. In the most recent time period, relative to the lowest GDI group, the average prevalence of early childbearing was significantly lower in the middle (-12.40, P < 0.00) and upper (-10.96, P = 0.03) tertiles after adjustment for the other indicators. These other indicators showed no consistent association with early childbearing. As national-level GDI increased, early adolescent childbearing declined. The GDI, which reflects human development adjusted for gender disparities in educational and economic prospects, was more consistently related to early adolescent childbearing than the absolute development prospects as given by the HDI. While creating gender equality is an important goal in and of itself, the findings emphasize the potential for improved national-level gender equitable development as a means to improve adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health.

Seafood inclusion in commercial main meal early years' food products.

PubMed

Carstairs, Sharon A; Marais, Debbi; Craig, Leone C A; Kiezebrink, Kirsty

2016-10-01

Seafood consumption is recommended as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Under-exposure to seafood during early years feeding, when taste and food acceptance is developed, may impact on the future development of a varied diet. This study aimed to investigate the availability and nutritional content of seafood in commercial infant meals compared to the other food types. A survey was conducted of all commercial infant main meal products available for purchase in supermarkets, high street retailers and online stores within the United Kingdom. The primary food type (seafood, poultry, meat and vegetables) within each product, nutritional composition per 100 g, and ingredient contribution were assessed. Of the original 341 main meal products seafood (n = 13; 3.8%) was underrepresented compared to poultry (103; 30.2%), meat (121; 35.5%) and vegetables (104; 30.5%). The number of the seafood meals increased three years later (n = 20; 6.3%) vegetable meals remained the largest contributor to the market (115; 36.4%) with meat (99; 31.3%) and poultry (82; 26.0%) both contributing slightly less than previously. Seafood-based meals provided significantly higher energy (83.0 kcal), protein (4.6 g), and total fat (3.2 g) than vegetable (68 kcal, 2.7 g, 1.9 g), meat (66 kcal, 3.0 g, 2.1 g) and poultry-based meals (66 kcal, 3.0 g, 2.1 g) and higher saturated fat (1.3 g) than poultry (0.4 g) and vegetable-based (0.6 g) meals (all per 100 g) which may be attributed to additional dairy ingredients. Parents who predominantly use commercial products to wean their infant may face challenges in sourcing a range of seafood products to enable the introduction of this food into the diet of their infant. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Early development of an enterprise health data warehouse.

PubMed

Househ, Mowafa Said; Al-Tuwaijri, Majid

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study is to describe early development challenges of an enterprise data warehouse within a Saudi Arabian academic healthcare facility. An action case research method was selected for this paper. The study took place between December 2009 and February 2010. Data collection included interviews, meeting observations, and meeting minutes. Early development challenges centered on the development of clear contracts with vendors; development of a clear project plan; a need to fast-track bureaucracy; and educate clinicians and staff about the project; and lack of data standardization.

Impact of natural products in modern drug development.

PubMed

Dev, Sukh

2010-03-01

Usage of natural substances as therapeutic agents in modern medicine has sharply declined from the predominant position held in the early decades of last century, but search for bioactive molecules from nature (plants, animals, microflora) continues to play an important role in fashioning new medicinal agents. With the advent of modern techniques, instrumentation and automation in isolation and structural characterisation, we have on hand an enormous repository of natural compounds. In parallel to this, biology has also made tremendous progress in expanding its frontiers of knowledge. An interplay of these two disciplines constitutes the modern thrust in research in the realm of compounds elaborated by nature. The purpose of this article is to underline how natural products research continues to make significant contributions in the domain of discovery and development of new medicinal products. It is proposed to present the material under several heads, each of which has made natural products research relevant in the search for new and better medication.

A Multilevel Study of Partnership Building to Support Early Childhood Development across Different Education Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jianjun; Ortiz, Theresa; Maier, Roland; Navarro, Diana

2015-01-01

First five years are identified as a critical period of child growth in scientific literature. In 1998, California voters passed Proposition 10 that appropriated a 50 cent per pack tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products to support early childhood development. As a result, Kern County Children and Families Commission administered over $10…

Development of Early Measures of Comprehension: Innovation in Individual Growth and Development Indicators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wackerle-Hollman, Alisha K.; Rodriguez, Megan I.; Bradfield, Tracy A.; Rodriguez, Michael C.; McConnell, Scott R.

2015-01-01

Early comprehension is an important, but not well-understood, contribution to early literacy and language development. Specifically, research regarding the nature of skills representative of early comprehension, including how they contribute to later reading success, is needed to support best practices to adequately prepare students. This article…

Ethylene production throughout growth and development of plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Raymond M.; Peterson, Barbara V.; Stutte, Gary W.

2004-01-01

Ethylene production by 10 or 20 m2 stands of wheat, soybean, lettuce, potato, and tomato was monitored throughout growth and development in an atmospherically closed plant chamber. Chamber ethylene levels varied among species and rose during periods of canopy expansion and rapid growth for all species. Following this, ethylene levels either declined during seed fill and maturation for wheat and soybean, or remained relatively constant for potato and tomato (during flowering and early fruit development). Lettuce plants were harvested during rapid growth and peak ethylene production. Chamber ethylene levels increased rapidly during tomato ripening, reaching concentrations about 10 times that measured during vegetative growth. The highest ethylene production rates during vegetative growth ranged from 1.6 to 2.5 nmol m-2 d-1 during rapid growth of lettuce and wheat stands, or about 0.3 to 0.5 nmol g-1 fresh weight per hour. Estimates of stand ethylene production during tomato ripening showed that rates reached 43 nmol m-2 d-1 in one study and 93 nmol m-2 d-1 in a second study with higher lighting, or about 50x that of the rate during vegetative growth of tomato. In a related test with potato, the photoperiod was extended from 12 to 24 hours (continuous light) at 58 days after planting (to increase tuber yield), but this change in the environment caused a sharp increase in ethylene production from the basal rate of 0.4 to 6.2 nmol m-2 d-1. Following this, the photoperiod was changed back to 12 h at 61 days and ethylene levels decreased. The results suggest three separate categories of ethylene production were observed with whole stands of plants: 1) production during rapid vegetative growth, 2) production during climacteric fruit ripening, and 3) production from environmental stress.

Development of Early Handwriting: Visual-Motor Control During Letter Copying

PubMed Central

Maldarelli, Jennifer E.; Kahrs, Björn A.; Hunt, Sarah C.; Lockman, Jeffrey J.

2015-01-01

Despite the importance of handwriting for school readiness and early academic progress, prior research on the development of handwriting has focused primarily on the product rather than the process by which young children write letters. In contrast, in the present work, early handwriting is viewed as involving a suite of perceptual, motor and cognitive abilities, which must work in unison if children are to write letters efficiently. To study such coordination, head-mounted eye-tracking technology was used to investigate the process of visual-motor coordination while kindergarten children (N=23) and adults (N=11) copied individual letters and strings of letters that differed in terms of their phonemic properties. Results indicated that kindergarten children were able to copy single letters efficiently, as did adults. When the cognitive demands of the task increased and children were presented with strings of letters, however, their ability to copy letters efficiently was compromised: children frequently interrupted their writing mid-letter, whereas they did not do so on single letter trials. Yet, with increasing age, children became more efficient in copying letter strings, in part by using vision more prospectively when writing. Taken together, the results illustrate how the coordination of perceptual, motor and cognitive processes contributes to advances in the development of letter writing skill. PMID:26029821

Promoting Professional Development for Physical Therapists in Early Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Catalino, Tricia; Chiarello, Lisa A.; Long, Toby; Weaver, Priscilla

2015-01-01

Early intervention service providers are expected to form cohesive teams to build the capacity of a family to promote their child's development. Given the differences in personnel preparation across disciplines of service providers, the Early Childhood Personnel Center is creating integrated and comprehensive professional development models for…

Getting an Early Start on Early Child Development. Education Notes. 30194

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Mary Eming; Dunkelberg, Erika

2004-01-01

The children born this year--2004--will be eleven years old in 2015--the age of primary school completion in most countries. This is the MDG (Millennium Development Goal) generation--for whom the international community has pledged that by 2015, all children will be able to complete primary schooling. Ensuring good early child development is the…

The Effects of Research & Development Funding on Scientific Productivity: Academic Chemistry, 1990-2009.

PubMed

Rosenbloom, Joshua L; Ginther, Donna K; Juhl, Ted; Heppert, Joseph A

2015-01-01

This article examines the relationship between Research & Development (R&D) funding and the production of knowledge by academic chemists. Using articles published, either raw counts or adjusted for quality, we find a strong, positive causal effect of funding on knowledge production. This effect is similar across subsets of universities, suggesting a relatively efficient allocation of R&D funds. Finally, we document a rapid acceleration in the rate at which chemical knowledge was produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s relative to the financial and human resources devoted to its production.

The Effects of Research & Development Funding on Scientific Productivity: Academic Chemistry, 1990-2009

PubMed Central

Rosenbloom, Joshua L.; Ginther, Donna K.; Juhl, Ted; Heppert, Joseph A.

2015-01-01

This article examines the relationship between Research & Development (R&D) funding and the production of knowledge by academic chemists. Using articles published, either raw counts or adjusted for quality, we find a strong, positive causal effect of funding on knowledge production. This effect is similar across subsets of universities, suggesting a relatively efficient allocation of R&D funds. Finally, we document a rapid acceleration in the rate at which chemical knowledge was produced in the late 1990s and early 2000s relative to the financial and human resources devoted to its production. PMID:26372555

Developments in early intervention for psychosis in Hong Kong.

PubMed

Wong, G H Y; Hui, C L M; Wong, D Y; Tang, J Y M; Chang, W C; Chan, S K W; Lee, E H M; Xu, J Q; Lin, J J X; Lai, D C; Tam, W; Kok, J; Chung, D W S; Hung, S F; Chen, E Y H

2012-09-01

The year 2011 marked the 10-year milestone of early intervention for psychosis in Hong Kong. Since 2001, the landscape of early psychosis services has changed markedly in Hong Kong. Substantial progress has been made in the areas of early intervention service implementation, knowledge generation, and public awareness promotion. Favourable outcomes attributable to the early intervention service are supported by solid evidence from local clinical research studies; early intervention service users showed improved functioning, ameliorated symptoms, and decreased hospitalisation and suicide rates. Continued development of early intervention in Hong Kong over the decade includes the introduction and maturation of several key platforms, such as the Hospital Authority Early Assessment Service for Young People with Psychosis programme, the Psychosis Studies and Intervention Unit by the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Early Psychosis Intervention Society, the Jockey Club Early Psychosis Project, and the postgraduate Psychological Medicine (Psychosis Studies) programme. In this paper, we reviewed some of the major milestones in local service development with reference to features of the Hong Kong mental health system. We describe chronologically the implementation and consolidation of public early intervention services as well as recent progresses in public awareness work that are tied in with knowledge generation and transfer, and outline the prospects for early intervention in the next decade and those that follow.

Early deictic but not other gestures predict later vocabulary in both typical development and autism.

PubMed

Özçalışkan, Şeyda; Adamson, Lauren B; Dimitrova, Nevena

2016-08-01

Research with typically developing children suggests a strong positive relation between early gesture use and subsequent vocabulary development. In this study, we ask whether gesture production plays a similar role for children with autism spectrum disorder. We observed 23 18-month-old typically developing children and 23 30-month-old children with autism spectrum disorder interact with their caregivers (Communication Play Protocol) and coded types of gestures children produced (deictic, give, conventional, and iconic) in two communicative contexts (commenting and requesting). One year later, we assessed children's expressive vocabulary, using Expressive Vocabulary Test. Children with autism spectrum disorder showed significant deficits in gesture production, particularly in deictic gestures (i.e. gestures that indicate objects by pointing at them or by holding them up). Importantly, deictic gestures-but not other gestures-predicted children's vocabulary 1 year later regardless of communicative context, a pattern also found in typical development. We conclude that the production of deictic gestures serves as a stepping-stone for vocabulary development. © The Author(s) 2015.

Pharmacogenomics in early-phase clinical development

PubMed Central

Burt, Tal; Dhillon, Savita

2015-01-01

Pharmacogenomics (PGx) offers the promise of utilizing genetic fingerprints to predict individual responses to drugs in terms of safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics. Early-phase clinical trial PGx applications can identify human genome variations that are meaningful to study design, selection of participants, allocation of resources and clinical research ethics. Results can inform later-phase study design and pipeline developmental decisions. Nevertheless, our review of the clinicaltrials.gov database demonstrates that PGx is rarely used by drug developers. Of the total 323 trials that included PGx as an outcome, 80% have been conducted by academic institutions after initial regulatory approval. Barriers for the application of PGx are discussed. We propose a framework for the role of PGx in early-phase drug development and recommend PGx be universally considered in study design, result interpretation and hypothesis generation for later-phase studies, but PGx results from underpowered studies should not be used by themselves to terminate drug-development programs. PMID:23837482

Early Communication Development and Intervention for Children with Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Landa, Rebecca

2007-01-01

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by impairments in social and communication development, accompanied by stereotyped patterns of behavior and interest. The focus of this paper is on the early development of communication in autism, and early intervention for impairments in communication associated with this disorder. An overview of…

Earlier Snowmelt Changes the Ratio Between Early and Late Season Forest Productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knowles, J. F.; Molotch, N. P.; Trujillo, E.; Litvak, M. E.

2017-12-01

Future projections of declining snowpack and increasing potential evaporation associated with climate warming are predicted to advance the timing of snowmelt in mountain ecosystems globally. This scenario has direct implications for snowmelt-driven forest productivity, but the net effect of temporally shifting moisture dynamics is unknown with respect to the annual carbon balance. Accordingly, this study uses both satellite- and tower-based observations to document the forest productivity response to snowpack and potential evaporation variability between 1989 and 2012 throughout the southern Rocky Mountain ecoregion, USA. These results show that a combination of low snow accumulation and record high potential evaporation in 2012 resulted in the 34-year minimum ecosystem productivity that could be indicative of future conditions. Moreover, early and late season productivity were significantly and inversely related, suggesting that future shifts toward earlier or reduced snowmelt could increase late-season moisture stress to vegetation and thus restrict productivity despite a longer growing season. This relationship was further subject to modification by summer precipitation, and the controls on the early/late season productivity ratio are explored within the context of ecosystem carbon storage in the future. Any perturbation to the carbon cycle at this scale represents a potential feedback to climate change since snow-covered forests represent an important global carbon sink.

Tobacco industry consumer research on smokeless tobacco users and product development.

PubMed

Mejia, Adrienne B; Ling, Pamela M

2010-01-01

Since 2006, RJ Reynolds (RJR) and Philip Morris have both introduced new smokeless "snus" tobacco products. We analyzed previously secret tobacco industry documents describing the history of RJR and Philip Morris's consumer research, smokeless product development, and marketing strategies. We found that RJR had invested in smokeless research, development, and marketing since 1968. RJR first targeted low-income males through sampling and sponsorship at fishing, rodeo, and baseball events, and through advertising portraying the user as "hard working." In the early 1990s, Philip Morris and RJR hoped to attract more urban, female smokeless users. The current "snus" campaigns appear to appeal to these targeted consumers and smokers in smoke-free environments. These efforts may expand the tobacco market and undermine smoking cessation.

Developing Structural Specification: Productivity in Early Hebrew Verb Usage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lustigman, Lyle

2013-01-01

The study investigates acquisition of verb inflections by four monolingual Hebrew-acquiring children from middle-class backgrounds, audio-recorded in longitudinal, weekly samples at a mean age-range of between 18 and 26 months. Productive use of inflectional morphology is shown to manifest increasing structural specification, as a function of…

Classroom Effects of an Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Partnership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Algozzine, Bob; Babb, Julie; Algozzine, Kate; Mraz, Maryann; Kissel, Brian; Spano, Sedra; Foxworth, Kimberly

2011-01-01

We evaluated an Early Childhood Educator Professional Development (ECEPD) project that provided high-quality, sustained, and intensive professional development designed to support developmentally appropriate instruction for preschool-age children based on the best available research on early childhood pedagogy, child development, and preschool…

Alternatives to the fish early life-stage test: Developing a conceptual model for early fish development

EPA Science Inventory

Chronic fish toxicity is a key parameter for hazard classification and environmental risk assessment of chemicals, and the OECD 210 fish early life-stage (FELS) test is the primary guideline test used for various international regulatory programs. There exists a need to develop ...

Early Development of Graphical Literacy through Knowledge Building

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gan, Yongcheng; Scardamalia, Marlene; Hong, Huang-Yao; Zhang, Jianwei

2010-01-01

This study examined growth in graphical literacy for students contributing to an online, multimedia, communal environment as they advanced their understanding of biology, history and optics. Their science and history studies started early in Grade 3 and continued to the end of Grade 4; students did not receive instruction in graphics production,…

Early childhood development: impact of national human development, family poverty, parenting practices and access to early childhood education.

PubMed

Tran, T D; Luchters, S; Fisher, J

2017-05-01

This study was to describe and quantify the relationships among family poverty, parents' caregiving practices, access to education and the development of children living in low- and middle-income countries (LAMIC). We conducted a secondary analysis of data collected in UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS). Early childhood development was assessed in four domains: language-cognitive, physical, socio-emotional and approaches to learning. Countries were classified into three groups on the basis of the Human Development Index (HDI). Overall, data from 97 731 children aged 36 to 59 months from 35 LAMIC were included in the after analyses. The mean child development scale score was 4.93 out of a maximum score of 10 (95%CI 4.90 to 4.97) in low-HDI countries and 7.08 (95%CI 7.05 to 7.12) in high-HDI countries. Family poverty was associated with lower child development scores in all countries. The total indirect effect of family poverty on child development score via attending early childhood education, care for the child at home and use of harsh punishments at home was -0.13 SD (77.8% of the total effect) in low-HDI countries, -0.09 SD (23.8% of the total effect) in medium-HDI countries and -0.02 SD (6.9% of the total effect) in high-HDI countries. Children in the most disadvantaged position in their societies and children living in low-HDI countries are at the greatest risk of failing to reach their developmental potential. Optimizing care for child development at home is essential to reduce the adverse effects of poverty on children's early development and subsequent life. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comprehensive Cell-specific Protein Analysis in Early and Late Pollen Development from Diploid Microsporocytes to Pollen Tube Growth*

PubMed Central

Ischebeck, Till; Valledor, Luis; Lyon, David; Gingl, Stephanie; Nagler, Matthias; Meijón, Mónica; Egelhofer, Volker; Weckwerth, Wolfram

2014-01-01

Pollen development in angiosperms is one of the most important processes controlling plant reproduction and thus productivity. At the same time, pollen development is highly sensitive to environmental fluctuations, including temperature, drought, and nutrition. Therefore, pollen biology is a major focus in applied studies and breeding approaches for improving plant productivity in a globally changing climate. The most accessible developmental stages of pollen are the mature pollen and the pollen tubes, and these are thus most frequently analyzed. To reveal a complete quantitative proteome map, we additionally addressed the very early stages, analyzing eight stages of tobacco pollen development: diploid microsporocytes, meiosis, tetrads, microspores, polarized microspores, bipolar pollen, desiccated pollen, and pollen tubes. A protocol for the isolation of the early stages was established. Proteins were extracted and analyzed by means of a new gel LC-MS fractionation protocol. In total, 3817 protein groups were identified. Quantitative analysis was performed based on peptide count. Exceedingly stage-specific differential protein regulation was observed during the conversion from the sporophytic to the gametophytic proteome. A map of highly specialized functionality for the different stages could be revealed from the metabolic activity and pronounced differentiation of proteasomal and ribosomal protein complex composition up to protective mechanisms such as high levels of heat shock proteins in the very early stages of development. PMID:24078888

Comprehensive cell-specific protein analysis in early and late pollen development from diploid microsporocytes to pollen tube growth.

PubMed

Ischebeck, Till; Valledor, Luis; Lyon, David; Gingl, Stephanie; Nagler, Matthias; Meijón, Mónica; Egelhofer, Volker; Weckwerth, Wolfram

2014-01-01

Pollen development in angiosperms is one of the most important processes controlling plant reproduction and thus productivity. At the same time, pollen development is highly sensitive to environmental fluctuations, including temperature, drought, and nutrition. Therefore, pollen biology is a major focus in applied studies and breeding approaches for improving plant productivity in a globally changing climate. The most accessible developmental stages of pollen are the mature pollen and the pollen tubes, and these are thus most frequently analyzed. To reveal a complete quantitative proteome map, we additionally addressed the very early stages, analyzing eight stages of tobacco pollen development: diploid microsporocytes, meiosis, tetrads, microspores, polarized microspores, bipolar pollen, desiccated pollen, and pollen tubes. A protocol for the isolation of the early stages was established. Proteins were extracted and analyzed by means of a new gel LC-MS fractionation protocol. In total, 3817 protein groups were identified. Quantitative analysis was performed based on peptide count. Exceedingly stage-specific differential protein regulation was observed during the conversion from the sporophytic to the gametophytic proteome. A map of highly specialized functionality for the different stages could be revealed from the metabolic activity and pronounced differentiation of proteasomal and ribosomal protein complex composition up to protective mechanisms such as high levels of heat shock proteins in the very early stages of development.

Assessing Home Environment for Early Child Development in Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nadeem, Sanober; Rafique, Ghazala; Khowaja, Liaquat; Yameen, Anjum

2014-01-01

Family environment plays a very important role in early child development and the availability of stimulating material in the early years of a child's life is crucial for optimising development. The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) inventory is one of the most widely used measures to assess the quality and quantity of…

Plasticity during Early Brain Development Is Determined by Ontogenetic Potential.

PubMed

Krägeloh-Mann, Ingeborg; Lidzba, Karen; Pavlova, Marina A; Wilke, Marko; Staudt, Martin

2017-04-01

Two competing hypotheses address neuroplasticity during early brain development: the "Kennard principle" describes the compensatory capacities of the immature developing CNS as superior to those of the adult brain, whereas the "Hebb principle" argues that the young brain is especially sensitive to insults. We provide evidence that these principles are not mutually exclusive. Following early brain lesions that are unilateral, the brain can refer to homotopic areas of the healthy hemisphere. This potential for reorganization is unique to the young brain but available only when, during ontogenesis of brain development, these areas have been used for the functions addressed. With respect to motor function, ipsilateral motor tracts can be recruited, which are only available during early brain development. Language can be reorganized to the right after early left hemispheric lesions, as the representation of the language network is initially bilateral. However, even in these situations, compensatory capacities of the developing brain are found to have limitations, probably defined by early determinants. Thus, plasticity and adaptivity are seen only within ontogenetic potential; that is, axonal or cortical structures cannot be recruited beyond early developmental possibilities. The young brain is probably more sensitive and vulnerable to lesions when these are bilateral. This is shown here for bilateral periventricular white matter lesions that clearly have an impact on cortical architecture and function, thus probably interfering with early network building. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Early Speech Motor Development: Cognitive and Linguistic Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nip, Ignatius S. B.; Green, Jordan R.; Marx, David B.

2009-01-01

This longitudinal investigation examines developmental changes in orofacial movements occurring during the early stages of communication development. The goals were to identify developmental trends in early speech motor performance and to determine how these trends differ across orofacial behaviors thought to vary in cognitive and linguistic…

Conceptions of and Early Childhood Educators' Experiences in Early Childhood Professional Development Programs: A Qualitative Metasynthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Christopher P.; Englehardt, Joanna

2016-01-01

Policy makers and early childhood stakeholders across the United States continue to seek policy solutions that improve early educators' instruction of young children. A primary vehicle for attaining this goal is professional development. This has led to an influx of empirical studies that seek to develop a set of best practices for professional…

Online Professional Development: Choices for Early Childhood Educators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olsen, Heather; Donaldson, Ana J.; Hudson, Susan D.

2010-01-01

Early childhood educators are responsible for providing young children with the best possible early care and education. Research on child care workers' education has shown that professional preparation makes a significant impact on children's cognitive and emotional development (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC],…

Activities for Career Development in Early Childhood Curriculum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yawkey, Thomas Daniels; Aronin, Eugene L.

The book presents career education activities and approaches for use by teachers, administrators, counselors, and students involved in early childhood education (ages three through eight). Part One stresses the importance of and rationale for career development in the early childhood curriculum. Research support for the approach to career…

Integrating health economics modeling in the product development cycle of medical devices: a Bayesian approach.

PubMed

Vallejo-Torres, Laura; Steuten, Lotte M G; Buxton, Martin J; Girling, Alan J; Lilford, Richard J; Young, Terry

2008-01-01

Medical device companies are under growing pressure to provide health-economic evaluations of their products. Cost-effectiveness analyses are commonly undertaken as a one-off exercise at the late stage of development of new technologies; however, the benefits of an iterative use of economic evaluation during the development process of new products have been acknowledged in the literature. Furthermore, the use of Bayesian methods within health technology assessment has been shown to be of particular value in the dynamic framework of technology appraisal when new information becomes available in the life cycle of technologies. In this study, we set out a methodology to adapt these methods for their application to directly support investment decisions in a commercial setting from early stages of the development of new medical devices. Starting with relatively simple analysis from the very early development phase and proceeding to greater depth of analysis at later stages, a Bayesian approach facilitates the incorporation of all available evidence and would help companies to make better informed choices at each decision point.

Early Vocal Development in Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rett Syndrome, and Fragile X Syndrome: Insights from Studies using Retrospective Video Analysis.

PubMed

Roche, Laura; Zhang, Dajie; Bartl-Pokorny, Katrin D; Pokorny, Florian B; Schuller, Björn W; Esposito, Gianluca; Bölte, Sven; Roeyers, Herbert; Poustka, Luise; Gugatschka, Markus; Waddington, Hannah; Vollmann, Ralf; Einspieler, Christa; Marschik, Peter B

2018-03-01

This article provides an overview of studies assessing the early vocalisations of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Rett syndrome (RTT), and fragile X syndrome (FXS) using retrospective video analysis (RVA) during the first two years of life. Electronic databases were systematically searched and a total of 23 studies were selected. These studies were then categorised according to whether children were later diagnosed with ASD (13 studies), RTT (8 studies), or FXS (2 studies), and then described in terms of (a) participant characteristics, (b) control group characteristics, (c) video footage, (d) behaviours analysed, and (e) main findings. This overview supports the use of RVA in analysing the early development of vocalisations in children later diagnosed with ASD, RTT or FXS, and provides an in-depth analysis of vocalisation presentation, complex vocalisation production, and the rate and/or frequency of vocalisation production across the three disorders. Implications are discussed in terms of extending crude vocal analyses to more precise methods that might provide more powerful means by which to discriminate between disorders during early development. A greater understanding of the early manifestation of these disorders may then lead to improvements in earlier detection.

Early Brain and Child Development: Connections to Early Education and Child Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romano, Judith T.

2013-01-01

The vast majority of young children spend time in settings outside of the home, and the nature of those settings directly impacts the child's health and development. The ecobiodevelopmental framework of early brain and child development serve as the backdrop for establishing quality. This article describes the use of quality rating systems,…

Temperament, Executive Control, and ADHD across Early Development

PubMed Central

Rabinovitz, Beth B.; O’Neill, Sarah; Rajendran, Khushmand; Halperin, Jeffrey M.

2015-01-01

Research examining factors linking early temperament and later ADHD is limited by cross-sectional approaches and having the same informant rate both temperament and psychopathology. We used multi-informant/multi-method longitudinal data to test the hypothesis that negative emotionality during preschool is positively associated with ADHD symptom severity in middle childhood, but developing executive control mediates this relation. Children (N=161) with and without ADHD were evaluated three times: Parent and teacher temperament ratings and NEPSY Visual Attention at ages 3–4 years; WISC-IV Working Memory Index and NEPSY Response Set at age 6 years; and ADHD symptoms using the Kiddie-SADS at age 7 years. Parent and teacher ratings of preschoolers’ temperament were combined to form an Anger/Frustration composite. Similarly, an Executive Functioning composite was derived from age 6 measures. Bootstrapping was used to determine whether age 6 Executive Functioning mediated the relation between early Anger/Frustration and later ADHD symptom severity, while controlling for early executive functioning. Preschoolers’ Anger/Frustration was significantly associated with later ADHD symptoms, with this relation partially mediated by age 6 Executive Functioning. Developing executive control mediates the relation between early Anger/Frustration and later ADHD symptom severity, suggesting that Anger/Frustration influences ADHD symptom severity through its impact on developing executive control. Early interventions targeting the harmful influences of negative emotionality or enhancing executive functioning may diminish later ADHD severity. PMID:26854505

Tobacco Industry Consumer Research on Smokeless Tobacco Users and Product Development

PubMed Central

Mejia, Adrienne B.

2010-01-01

Since 2006, RJ Reynolds (RJR) and Philip Morris have both introduced new smokeless “snus” tobacco products. We analyzed previously secret tobacco industry documents describing the history of RJR and Philip Morris's consumer research, smokeless product development, and marketing strategies. We found that RJR had invested in smokeless research, development, and marketing since 1968. RJR first targeted low-income males through sampling and sponsorship at fishing, rodeo, and baseball events, and through advertising portraying the user as “hard working.” In the early 1990s, Philip Morris and RJR hoped to attract more urban, female smokeless users. The current “snus” campaigns appear to appeal to these targeted consumers and smokers in smoke-free environments. These efforts may expand the tobacco market and undermine smoking cessation. PMID:19910355

Low adiposity during early infancy is associated with a low risk for developing dengue hemorrhagic fever: a preliminary model.

PubMed

Libraty, Daniel H; Zhang, Lei; Woda, Marcia; Giaya, Kris; Kathivu, Chido Loveness; Acosta, Luz P; Tallo, Veronica; Segubre-Mercado, Edelwisa; Bautista, Analisa; Obcena, AnaMae; Brion, Job D; Capeding, Rosario Z

2014-01-01

Dengue virus (DENV) infections range from asymptomatic or mild illness to a severe and potentially life threatening disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). DHF occurs in primary DENV infections during early infancy. A prospective clinical study of DENV infections during infancy was conducted in San Pablo, Philippines. We found that infants who developed DHF with a primary DENV infection had higher WHO weight-for-age z scores before and at the time of infection compared to infants with primary DENV infections who did not develop DHF. In addition, TLR 7/8-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production from myeloid-derived cells was higher among well-nourished infants. Leptin augmented TLR 7/8-mediated TNF-α production in monocytes and decreased intracellular cAMP levels. Circulating leptin levels were elevated during early infancy and correlated with WHO weight-for-age z scores. Our data support a plausible hypothesis as to why well-nourished infants are at risk for developing DHF with their first DENV infection.

Low Adiposity during Early Infancy Is Associated with a Low Risk for Developing Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever: A Preliminary Model

PubMed Central

Libraty, Daniel H.; Zhang, Lei; Woda, Marcia; Giaya, Kris; Kathivu, Chido Loveness; Acosta, Luz P.; Tallo, Veronica; Segubre-Mercado, Edelwisa; Bautista, Analisa; Obcena, AnaMae; Brion, Job D.; Capeding, Rosario Z.

2014-01-01

Dengue virus (DENV) infections range from asymptomatic or mild illness to a severe and potentially life threatening disease, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). DHF occurs in primary DENV infections during early infancy. A prospective clinical study of DENV infections during infancy was conducted in San Pablo, Philippines. We found that infants who developed DHF with a primary DENV infection had higher WHO weight-for-age z scores before and at the time of infection compared to infants with primary DENV infections who did not develop DHF. In addition, TLR 7/8-stimulated tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production from myeloid-derived cells was higher among well-nourished infants. Leptin augmented TLR 7/8-mediated TNF-α production in monocytes and decreased intracellular cAMP levels. Circulating leptin levels were elevated during early infancy and correlated with WHO weight-for-age z scores. Our data support a plausible hypothesis as to why well-nourished infants are at risk for developing DHF with their first DENV infection. PMID:24533162

Parents' Role in the Early Head Start Children's Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griswold, Cecelia Smalls

2014-01-01

The development of language during a child's early years has been linked to parental involvement. While Early Head Start (EHS) researchers have theorized that parental involvement is an important factor in language development, there has been little research on how parents view their roles in the language development process. The purpose of this…

Development of early handwriting: Visual-motor control during letter copying.

PubMed

Maldarelli, Jennifer E; Kahrs, Björn A; Hunt, Sarah C; Lockman, Jeffrey J

2015-07-01

Despite the importance of handwriting for school readiness and early academic progress, prior research on the development of handwriting has focused primarily on the product rather than the process by which young children write letters. In contrast, in the present work, early handwriting is viewed as involving a suite of perceptual, motor, and cognitive abilities, which must work in unison if children are to write letters efficiently. To study such coordination, head-mounted eye-tracking technology was used to investigate the process of visual-motor coordination while kindergarten children (N = 23) and adults (N = 11) copied individual letters and strings of letters that differed in terms of their phonemic properties. Results indicated that kindergarten children were able to copy single letters efficiently, as did adults. When the cognitive demands of the task increased and children were presented with strings of letters, however, their ability to copy letters efficiently was compromised: Children frequently interrupted their writing midletter, whereas they did not do so on single letter trials. Yet, with increasing age, children became more efficient in copying letter strings, in part by using vision more prospectively when writing. Taken together, the results illustrate how the coordination of perceptual, motor, and cognitive processes contributes to advances in the development of letter writing skill. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Feasibility of an Online Professional Development Program for Early Intervention Practitioners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyzar, Kathleen B.; Chiu, Caya; Kemp, Peggy; Aldersey, Heather Michelle; Turnbull, Ann P.; Lindeman, David P.

2014-01-01

This article reports findings from 2 studies situated within a larger scope of design research on a professional development program, "Early Years," for Part C early intervention practitioners, working with families in home and community settings. Early Years includes online modules and onsite mentor coaching, and its development has…

[Early childhood growth and development].

PubMed

Arce, Melitón

2015-01-01

This article describes and discusses issues related to the process of childhood growth and development, with emphasis on the early years, a period in which this process reaches critical speed on major structures and functions of the human economy. We reaffirm that this can contribute to the social availability of a generation of increasingly better adults, which in turn will be able to contribute to building a better world and within it a society that enjoys greater prosperity. In the first chapter, we discuss the general considerations on the favorable evolution of human society based on quality of future adults, meaning the accomplishments that today’s children will gain. A second chapter mentions the basics of growth and development in the different fields and the various phenomena that occur in it. In the third we refer to lost opportunities and negative factors that can affect delaying the process and thereby result in not obtaining the expected accomplishments. In the fourth, conclusions and recommendations are presented confirming the initial conception that good early child care serves to build a better society and some recommendations are formulated to make it a good practice.

Clinical assessment of early language development: a simplified short form of the Mandarin communicative development inventory.

PubMed

Soli, Sigfrid D; Zheng, Yun; Meng, Zhaoli; Li, Gang

2012-09-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a practical mean for clinical evaluation of early pediatric language development by establishing developmental trajectories for receptive and expressive vocabulary growth in children between 6 and 32 months of age using a simple, time-efficient assessment tool. Simplified short form versions of the Words and Gestures and Words and Sentences vocabulary inventories in the Mandarin Communicative Development Inventory [1] were developed and used to assess early language development in developmentally normal children from 6 to 32 months of age during routine health checks. Developmental trajectories characterizing the rate of receptive and expressive vocabulary growth between 6 and 32 months of age are reported. These trajectories allow the equivalent age corresponding to a score to be determined after a brief structured interview with the child's parents that can be conducted in a busy clinical setting. The simplified short forms of the Mandarin Communicative Development Inventories can serve as a clinically useful tool to assess early child language development, providing a practical mean of objectively assessing early language development following early interventions to treat young children with hearing impairment as well as speech and language delays. Objective evidence of language development is essential for achievement of effective (re)habilitation outcomes. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of early communication skills in the first two years of life.

PubMed

Beuker, Karin T; Rommelse, Nanda N J; Donders, Rogier; Buitelaar, Jan K

2013-02-01

The first two years of life is a crucially important period for the development of communication skills. In this study joint attention and language development were monthly assessed between 8 and 24 months of age in a sample of 23 typically developing children to establish the developmental trajectory of specific joint attention skills, to investigate the developmental interrelations of these different joint attention skills with vocabulary size, and to examine whether the order of development of following and directing attention influences the development of other early communication skills such as language. All joint attention skills emerged between 8 and 15 months of age and responsive joint attention skills tend to emerge before initiative joint attention. Early joint attention skills influenced later language development, but not the other way around. Children in whom directing attention with gaze alternation developed early (in age or order) showed a relatively larger early vocabulary growth. A fine grained mapping of the normal development of early communication skills can be helpful in the early detection of abnormalities in these skills. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Alberta Learning: Early Development Instrument Pilot Project Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meaney, Wanda; Harris-Lorenze, Elayne

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) was designed by McMaster University to measure the outcomes of childrens early years as they influence their readiness to learn at school. The EDI was piloted in several Canadian cities in recent years through two national initiatives. Building on these initiatives, Alberta Learning piloted the EDI as a…

Estimating millet production for famine early warning: An application of crop simulation modelling using satellite and ground-based data in Burkina Faso

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thornton, P. K.; Bowen, W. T.; Ravelo, A.C.; Wilkens, P. W.; Farmer, G.; Brock, J.; Brink, J. E.

1997-01-01

Early warning of impending poor crop harvests in highly variable environments can allow policy makers the time they need to take appropriate action to ameliorate the effects of regional food shortages on vulnerable rural and urban populations. Crop production estimates for the current season can be obtained using crop simulation models and remotely sensed estimates of rainfall in real time, embedded in a geographic information system that allows simple analysis of simulation results. A prototype yield estimation system was developed for the thirty provinces of Burkina Faso. It is based on CERES-Millet, a crop simulation model of the growth and development of millet (Pennisetum spp.). The prototype was used to estimate millet production in contrasting seasons and to derive production anomaly estimates for the 1986 season. Provincial yields simulated halfway through the growing season were generally within 15% of their final (end-of-season) values. Although more work is required to produce an operational early warning system of reasonable credibility, the methodology has considerable potential for providing timely estimates of regional production of the major food crops in countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

Functional groups show distinct differences in nitrogen cycling during early stand development: implications for forest management.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aubrey, Doug, P.; Coyle, David, R. Coleman, Mark, D.

2011-08-26

Nutrient acquisition of forest stands is controlled by soil resource availability and belowground production, but tree species are rarely compared in this regard. Here, we examine ecological and management implications of nitrogen (N) dynamics during early forest stand development in productive commercial tree species with narrow (Populus deltoides Bartr. and Platanus occidentalis L.) and broad (Liquidambar styraciflua L. and Pinus taeda L.) site requirements while grown with a range of nutrient and water resources. We constructed N budgets by measuring N concentration ([N]) and N content (N{sub C}) of above- and belowground perennial and ephemeral tissues, determined N uptake (N{submore » UP}), and calculated N use efficiency (NUE). Forest stands regulated [N] within species-specific operating ranges without clear temporal or treatment patterns, thus demonstrating equilibrium between tissue [N] and biomass accumulation. Forest stand N{sub C} and N{sub UP} increased with stand development and paralleled treatment patterns of biomass accumulation, suggesting productivity is tightly linked to N{sub UP}. Inclusion of above- and belowground ephemeral tissue turnover in N{sub UP} calculations demonstrated that maximum N demand for narrow-sites adapted species exceeded 200 kg N ha{sup -1} year{sup -1} while demand for broad-site adapted species was below this level. NUE was species dependent but not consistently influenced by N availability, suggesting relationships between NUE and resource availability were species dependent. Based on early stand development, species with broad site adaptability are favored for woody cropping systems because they maintain high above- and belowground productivity with minimal fertilization requirements due to higher NUE than narrow site adapted species.« less

The development of functional network organization in early childhood and early adolescence: A resting-state fNIRS study.

PubMed

Cai, Lin; Dong, Qi; Niu, Haijing

2018-04-01

Early childhood (7-8 years old) and early adolescence (11-12 years old) constitute two landmark developmental stages that comprise considerable changes in neural cognition. However, very limited information from functional neuroimaging studies exists on the functional topological configuration of the human brain during specific developmental periods. In the present study, we utilized continuous resting-state functional near-infrared spectroscopy (rs-fNIRS) imaging data to examine topological changes in network organization during development from early childhood and early adolescence to adulthood. Our results showed that the properties of small-worldness and modularity were not significantly different across development, demonstrating the developmental maturity of important functional brain organization in early childhood. Intriguingly, young children had a significantly lower global efficiency than early adolescents and adults, which revealed that the integration of the distributed networks strengthens across the developmental stages underlying cognitive development. Moreover, local efficiency of young children and adolescents was significantly lower than that of adults, while there was no difference between these two younger groups. This finding demonstrated that functional segregation remained relatively steady from early childhood to early adolescence, and the brain in these developmental periods possesses no optimal network configuration. Furthermore, we found heterogeneous developmental patterns in the regional nodal properties in various brain regions, such as linear increased nodal properties in the frontal cortex, indicating increasing cognitive capacity over development. Collectively, our results demonstrated that significant topological changes in functional network organization occurred during these two critical developmental stages, and provided a novel insight into elucidating subtle changes in brain functional networks across development. Copyright �

Applying Early Systems Engineering: Injecting Knowledge into the Capability Development Process

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

involves early use of systems engi- neering and technical analyses to supplement the existing operational analysis techniques currently used in...complexity, and costs of systems now being developed require tight coupling between operational requirements stated in the CDD, system requirements...Fleischer » Keywords: Capability Development, Competitive Prototyping, Knowledge Points, Early Systems Engineering Applying Early Systems

First-Time Mothers' Knowledge and Beliefs Regarding Early Communication Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Vicki; Pearce, Wendy M.; Devine, Sue

2014-01-01

Limited literature exists in the Australian context about first-time mothers' knowledge of early communication milestones, their strategies to facilitate speech and language development and understanding of the relationship between early communication skills and future development. A cross-sectional online survey was administered to 53 first-time…

[Historical and Hygienic Aspects on Roles of Quality Requirements for Antibiotic Products in Japan: Part 1--Development of Antibiotic Products].

PubMed

Yagisawa, Morimasa; Foster, Patrick J; Kurokawa, Tatsuo

2015-01-01

Antibiotic products have contributed greatly to keep Japanese people healthy by controlling lethal infections. In the early days, antibiotics such as penicillin and streptomycin were produced using microbial fermentation processes. Therefore, the component ratio of the active element and related substances varied lot by lot. For the purpose of efficacy and assuring safety, minimum requirements for penicillin and streptomycin products were enacted. Both variations and the number of clinically available antibiotic products have increased due to the pharmaceutical development of novel natural antibiotics. In addition, semi-synthetic derivatives of various antibiotics have been developed for the purpose of enhancing antimicrobial activity or improving pharmacological properties. As a result, 202 entities of antibiotic products have been approved and used clinically as of 2012. We conducted a detailed investigation of the progress made in the field of antibiotic products, and analyzed the characteristics of those belonging to each class of antibiotics by means of setting up a system of classification that reflects clinical applications. This report is intended to serve as an introduction to our series of investigations into the role and influence of quality requirements on development of antibacterial antibiotic products in Japan. As described here, the general view of antibacterial antibiotic products spanning a time frame of 67 years in Japan might serve as an ideal reference for future reports.

Early Brain Development Research Review and Update

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schiller, Pam

2010-01-01

Thanks to imaging technology used in neurobiology, people have access to useful and critical information regarding the development of the human brain. This information allows them to become much more effective in helping children in their early development. In fact, when people base their practices on the findings from medical science research,…

Parent Reports of Young Spanish-English Bilingual Children's Productive Vocabulary: A Development and Validation Study.

PubMed

Mancilla-Martinez, Jeannette; Gámez, Perla B; Vagh, Shaher Banu; Lesaux, Nonie K

2016-01-01

This 2-phase study aims to extend research on parent report measures of children's productive vocabulary by investigating the development (n = 38) of the Spanish Vocabulary Extension and validity (n = 194) of the 100-item Spanish and English MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories Toddler Short Forms and Upward Extension (Fenson et al., 2000, 2007; Jackson-Maldonado, Marchman, & Fernald, 2013) and the Spanish Vocabulary Extension for use with parents from low-income homes and their 24- to 48-month-old Spanish-English bilingual children. Study participants were drawn from Early Head Start and Head Start collaborative programs in the Northeastern United States in which English was the primary language used in the classroom. All families reported Spanish or Spanish-English as their home language(s). The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories as well as the researcher-designed Spanish Vocabulary Extension were used as measures of children's English and Spanish productive vocabularies. Findings revealed the forms' concurrent and discriminant validity, on the basis of standardized measures of vocabulary, as measures of productive vocabulary for this growing bilingual population. These findings suggest that parent reports, including our researcher-designed form, represent a valid, cost-effective mechanism for vocabulary monitoring purposes in early childhood education settings.

Mandibular Motor Control during the Early Development of Speech and Nonspeech Behaviors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steeve, Roger W.; Moore, Christopher A.

2009-01-01

Purpose: The mandible is often portrayed as a primary structure of early babble production, but empiricists still need to specify (a) how mandibular motor control and kinematics vary among different types of multisyllabic babble, (b) whether chewing or jaw oscillation relies on a coordinative infrastructure that can be exploited for early types of…

Grafting influences on early acorn production in swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor Wild.)

Treesearch

Mark V. Coggeshall; J.W. Van Sambeek; H.E. Garrett

2008-01-01

Early fruiting of swamp white oak planting stock has been observed. The potential to exploit this trait for wildlife enhancement purposes was evaluated in a grafting study. Scions from both precocious and non-precocious ortets were grafted onto a series of related seedling rootstock sources. Acorn production was recorded through age 4 years. Acorn productivity of the...

Regulation of early Xenopus development by ErbB signaling

PubMed Central

Nie, Shuyi; Chang, Chenbei

2008-01-01

ErbB signaling has long been implicated in cancer formation and progression and is shown to regulate cell division, migration and death during tumorigenesis. The functions of the ErbB pathway during early vertebrate embryogenesis, however, are not well understood. Here we report characterization of ErbB activities during early frog development. Gain-of-function analyses show that EGFR, ErbB2 and ErbB4 induce ectopic tumor-like cell mass that contains increased numbers of mitotic cells. Both the muscle and the neural markers are expressed in these ectopic protrusions. ErbBs also induce mesodermal markers in ectodermal explants. Loss-of-function studies using carboxyl terminal-truncated dominant-negative ErbB receptors demonstrate that blocking ErbB signals leads to defective gastrulation movements and malformation of the embryonic axis with a reduction in the head structures in early frog embryos. These data, together with the observation that ErbBs are expressed early during frog embryogenesis, suggest that ErbBs regulate cell proliferation, movements and embryonic patterning during early Xenopus development. PMID:16258939

[Early Intervention and Cognitive Development: A Longitudinal Study with Psychologically Stressed Mother-Child-Dyad during Early Childhood].

PubMed

Zwönitzer, Annabel; Ziegenhain, Ute; Bovenschen, Ina; Pillhofer, Melanie; Spangler, Gottfried; Gerlach, Jennifer; Gabler, Sandra; Kindler, Heinz; Fegert, Jörg M; Künster, Anne Katrin

2016-01-01

Early intervention programs aiming at developing parents’ relationship and parenting skills and supporting young families have become increasingly established in Germany throughout the last decade. The present longitudinal study analyzed 53 children and their mothers receiving early intervention due to their psychosocially highly challenging life situations and personal circumstances. The children were examined at birth and at an age of twelve months as well as between ages two and four. The results revealed that the child’s cognitive development could be predicted by both maternal sensitivity and mother’s psychosocial stress. However, the amount, type, and intensity of early intervention did not have any effect on the child’s development. In terms of the effectiveness of early interventions the results implicate that interventions seems to be offered in an unspecific manner and does not contribute to an improvement of the child’s developmental status.

Redefining Leadership: Lessons from an Early Education Leadership Development Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Douglass, Anne

2018-01-01

This study examined how experienced early educators developed as change agents in the context of a leadership development program. Unlike in many other professions, experienced early educators lack opportunities to grow throughout their careers and access the supports they need to lead change in their classrooms, organizations, the profession, and…

Eco-Efficient Process Improvement at the Early Development Stage: Identifying Environmental and Economic Process Hotspots for Synergetic Improvement Potential.

PubMed

Piccinno, Fabiano; Hischier, Roland; Seeger, Stefan; Som, Claudia

2018-05-15

We present here a new eco-efficiency process-improvement method to highlight combined environmental and costs hotspots of the production process of new material at a very early development stage. Production-specific and scaled-up results for life cycle assessment (LCA) and production costs are combined in a new analysis to identify synergetic improvement potentials and trade-offs, setting goals for the eco-design of new processes. The identified hotspots and bottlenecks will help users to focus on the relevant steps for improvements from an eco-efficiency perspective and potentially reduce their associated environmental impacts and production costs. Our method is illustrated with a case study of nanocellulose. The results indicate that the production route should start with carrot pomace, use heat and solvent recovery, and deactivate the enzymes with bleach instead of heat. To further improve the process, the results show that focus should be laid on the carrier polymer, sodium alginate, and the production of the GripX coating. Overall, the method shows that the underlying LCA scale-up framework is valuable for purposes beyond conventional LCA studies and is applicable at a very early stage to provide researchers with a better understanding of their production process.

Restoration of GABA production machinery in Lactobacillus brevis by accessible carbohydrates, anaerobiosis and early acidification.

PubMed

Wu, Qinglong; Shah, Nagendra P

2018-02-01

Lactobacillus brevis is an efficient cell factory for producing bioactive γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) by its gad operon-encoded glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) system. However, little mechanistic insights have been reported on the effects of carbohydrate, oxygen and early acidification on GABA production machinery in Lb. brevis. In the present study, GABA production from Lb. brevis was enhanced by accessible carbohydrates. Fast growth of this organism was stimulated by maltose and xylose. However, its GABA production was highly suppressed by oxygen exposure, but was fully restored by anaerobiosis that up-regulated the expression of gad operon in Lb. brevis cells. Although the level of cytosolic acidity was suitable for the functioning of GadA and GadB, early acidification of the medium (ipH 5 and ipH 4) restored GABA synthesis strictly in aerated cells of Lb. brevis because the expression of gad operon was not up-regulated in them. We conclude that GABA production machinery in Lb. brevis could be restored by accessible carbohydrates, anaerobiosis and early acidification. This will be of interest for controlling fermentation for synthesis of GABA and manufacturing GABA-rich fermented vegetables. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The guanosine nucleotide (p)ppGpp initiates development and A-factor production in myxococcus xanthus.

PubMed

Harris, B Z; Kaiser, D; Singer, M

1998-04-01

Guanosine 3'-di-5'-(tri)di-phosphate nucleotides [(p)ppGpp], synthesized in response to amino acid limitation, induce early gene expression leading to multicellular fruiting body formation in Myxococcus xanthus. A mutant (DK527) that fails to accumulate (p)ppGpp in response to starvation was found to be blocked in development prior to aggregation. By use of a series of developmentally regulated Tn5lac transcriptional fusion reporters, the time of developmental arrest in DK527 was narrowed to within the few hours of development, the period of starvation recognition. The mutant is also defective in the production of A-factor, an early extracellular cell-density signal. The relA gene from Escherichia coli, which encodes a ribosome-dependent (p)ppGpp synthetase, rescues this mutant. We also demonstrate that inactivation of the M. xanthus relA homolog blocks development and the accumulation of (p)ppGpp. Moreover, the wild-type allele of Myxococcus relA rescues DK527. These observations support a model in which accumulation of (p)ppGpp, in response to starvation, initiates the program of fruiting body development, including the production of A-factor.

75 FR 63188 - Draft Guidance for Industry: Early Clinical Trials With Live Biotherapeutic Products: Chemistry...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-10-14

...] Draft Guidance for Industry: Early Clinical Trials With Live Biotherapeutic Products: Chemistry...: Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control Information'' dated September 2010. The draft guidance provides... Products: Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Control Information'' dated September 2010. The draft guidance...

Developing a Decision Model of Sustainable Product Design and Development from Product Servicizing in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Yu-Chen; Tu, Jui-Che; Hung, So-Jeng

2016-01-01

In response to the global trend of low carbon and the concept of sustainable development, enterprises need to develop R&D for the manufacturing of energy-saving and sustainable products and low carbon products. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to construct a decision model for sustainable product design and development from product…

Developing an Early Childhood Teacher Workforce Development Strategy for Rural and Remote Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Price, Anne; Jackson-Barrett, Elizabeth

2009-01-01

The North West Early Childhood and Primary Teacher Workforce Development Strategy offers students in the Pilbara and Kimberley the opportunity to enrol in a Western Australian University's fully accredited Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) part time and externally--so they can continue to live and work in their communities. The…

Different implications of paternal and maternal atopy for perinatal IgE production and asthma development.

PubMed

Wu, Chih-Chiang; Chen, Rong-Fu; Kuo, Ho-Chang

2012-01-01

Asthma is a hereditary disease associated with IgE-mediated reaction. Whether maternal atopy and paternal atopy have different impacts on perinatal IgE production and asthma development remains unclear. This paper reviews and summarizes the effects of maternal and paternal atopy on the developmental aspects of IgE production and asthma. Maternal atopy affects both pre- and postnatal IgE production, whereas paternal atopy mainly affects the latter. Maternally transmitted genes GSTP1 and FceRI-beta are associated with lung function and allergic sensitization, respectively. In IgE production and asthma development, the maternal influence on gene-environment interaction is greater than paternal influence. Maternal, paternal, and/or postnatal environmental modulation of allergic responses have been linked to epigenetic mechanisms, which may be good targets for early prevention of asthma.

Different Implications of Paternal and Maternal Atopy for Perinatal IgE Production and Asthma Development

PubMed Central

Wu, Chih-Chiang; Chen, Rong-Fu; Kuo, Ho-Chang

2012-01-01

Asthma is a hereditary disease associated with IgE-mediated reaction. Whether maternal atopy and paternal atopy have different impacts on perinatal IgE production and asthma development remains unclear. This paper reviews and summarizes the effects of maternal and paternal atopy on the developmental aspects of IgE production and asthma. Maternal atopy affects both pre- and postnatal IgE production, whereas paternal atopy mainly affects the latter. Maternally transmitted genes GSTP1 and FceRI-beta are associated with lung function and allergic sensitization, respectively. In IgE production and asthma development, the maternal influence on gene-environment interaction is greater than paternal influence. Maternal, paternal, and/or postnatal environmental modulation of allergic responses have been linked to epigenetic mechanisms, which may be good targets for early prevention of asthma. PMID:22272211

Applying cognitive training to target executive functions during early development.

PubMed

Wass, Sam V

2015-01-01

Developmental psychopathology is increasingly recognizing the importance of distinguishing causal processes (i.e., the mechanisms that cause a disease) from developmental outcomes (i.e., the symptoms of the disorder as it is eventually diagnosed). Targeting causal processes early in disordered development may be more effective than waiting until outcomes are established and then trying to reverse the pathogenic process. In this review, I evaluate evidence suggesting that neural and behavioral plasticity may be greatest at very early stages of development. I also describe correlational evidence suggesting that, across a number of conditions, early emerging individual differences in attentional control and working memory may play a role in mediating later-developing differences in academic and other forms of learning. I review the currently small number of studies that applied direct and indirect cognitive training targeted at young individuals and discuss methodological challenges associated with targeting this age group. I also discuss a number of ways in which early, targeted cognitive training may be used to help us understand the developmental mechanisms subserving typical and atypical cognitive development.

Applying cognitive training to target executive functions during early development

PubMed Central

Wass, Sam V.

2015-01-01

Developmental psychopathology is increasingly recognizing the importance of distinguishing causal processes (i.e., the mechanisms that cause a disease) from developmental outcomes (i.e., the symptoms of the disorder as it is eventually diagnosed). Targeting causal processes early in disordered development may be more effective than waiting until outcomes are established and then trying to reverse the pathogenic process. In this review, I evaluate evidence suggesting that neural and behavioral plasticity may be greatest at very early stages of development. I also describe correlational evidence suggesting that, across a number of conditions, early emerging individual differences in attentional control and working memory may play a role in mediating later-developing differences in academic and other forms of learning. I review the currently small number of studies that applied direct and indirect cognitive training targeted at young individuals and discuss methodological challenges associated with targeting this age group. I also discuss a number of ways in which early, targeted cognitive training may be used to help us understand the developmental mechanisms subserving typical and atypical cognitive development. PMID:24511910

The Development of Early Childhood Teachers' Language Knowledge in Different Educational Tracks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strohmer, Janina; Mischo, Christoph

2015-01-01

Early childhood teachers should have extensive knowledge about language and language development, because these facets of professional knowledge are considered as important requirements for fostering language development in early childhood education settings. It is assumed that early childhood teachers acquire this knowledge during pre-service…

Biased gene expression in early honeybee larval development

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Female larvae of the honeybee (Apis mellifera) develop into either queens or workers depending on nutrition. This nutritional stimulus triggers different developmental trajectories, resulting in adults that differ from each other in physiology, behaviour and life span. Results To understand how these trajectories are established we have generated a comprehensive atlas of gene expression throughout larval development. We found substantial differences in gene expression between worker and queen-destined larvae at 6 hours after hatching. Some of these early changes in gene expression are maintained throughout larval development, indicating that caste-specific developmental trajectories are established much earlier than previously thought. Within our gene expression data we identified processes that potentially underlie caste differentiation. Queen-destined larvae have higher expression of genes involved in transcription, translation and protein folding early in development with a later switch to genes involved in energy generation. Using RNA interference, we were able to demonstrate that one of these genes, hexamerin 70b, has a role in caste differentiation. Both queen and worker developmental trajectories are associated with the expression of genes that have alternative splice variants, although only a single variant of a gene tends to be differentially expressed in a given caste. Conclusions Our data, based on the biases in gene expression early in development together with published data, supports the idea that caste development in the honeybee consists of two phases; an initial biased phase of development, where larvae can still switch to the other caste by differential feeding, followed by commitment to a particular developmental trajectory. PMID:24350621

History and early development of INCAP.

PubMed

Scrimshaw, Nevin S

2010-02-01

Nevin Scrimshaw was the founding Director of the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP), serving as Director from 1949 to 1961. In this article, he reviews the history of the founding of INCAP, including the role of the Rockefeller and Kellogg Foundations, the Central American governments, and the Pan American Health Organization. The objectives pursued by INCAP in its early years were to assess the nutrition and related health problems of Central America, to carry out research to find practical solutions to these problems, and to provide technical assistance to its member countries to implement solutions. INCAP pursued a strategy of selecting promising Central Americans for advanced education and training in the US who assumed positions of leadership on their return. After this early phase, talented non-Central Americans of diverse origins were brought to INCAP, as well as additional researchers from the region. Growth of INCAP, as reflected in its annual budget and in the physical plant, was rapid and this was accompanied by high scientific productivity. Several field studies were launched that contributed impetus and design elements for the Oriente Longitudinal Study, which is the focus of this supplement.

Early androgen exposure and human gender development.

PubMed

Hines, Melissa; Constantinescu, Mihaela; Spencer, Debra

2015-01-01

During early development, testosterone plays an important role in sexual differentiation of the mammalian brain and has enduring influences on behavior. Testosterone exerts these influences at times when the testes are active, as evidenced by higher concentrations of testosterone in developing male than in developing female animals. This article critically reviews the available evidence regarding influences of testosterone on human gender-related development. In humans, testosterone is elevated in males from about weeks 8 to 24 of gestation and then again during early postnatal development. Individuals exposed to atypical concentrations of testosterone or other androgenic hormones prenatally, for example, because of genetic conditions or because their mothers were prescribed hormones during pregnancy, have been consistently found to show increased male-typical juvenile play behavior, alterations in sexual orientation and gender identity (the sense of self as male or female), and increased tendencies to engage in physically aggressive behavior. Studies of other behavioral outcomes following dramatic androgen abnormality prenatally are either too small in their numbers or too inconsistent in their results, to provide similarly conclusive evidence. Studies relating normal variability in testosterone prenatally to subsequent gender-related behavior have produced largely inconsistent results or have yet to be independently replicated. For studies of prenatal exposures in typically developing individuals, testosterone has been measured in single samples of maternal blood or amniotic fluid. These techniques may not be sufficiently powerful to consistently detect influences of testosterone on behavior, particularly in the relatively small samples that have generally been studied. The postnatal surge in testosterone in male infants, sometimes called mini-puberty, may provide a more accessible opportunity for measuring early androgen exposure during typical development. This

Childhood Immunization: A Key Component of Early Childhood Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Messonnier, Nancy

2017-01-01

Physical health is a key component of early childhood development and school readiness. By keeping children healthy and decreasing the chances of disease outbreaks, immunizations help early childhood programs create a safe environment for children. While overall vaccination rates are high nationally for most vaccines routinely recommended for…

Calcium at fertilization and in early development

PubMed Central

Whitaker, Michael

2012-01-01

Fertilization calcium waves are introduced and the evidence from which we can infer general mechanisms of these waves is presented. The two main classes of hypothesis put forward to explain the generation of the fertilization calcium wave are set out and it is concluded that initiation of the fertilization calcium wave can be most generally explained in inverterbrates by a mechanism in which an activating substance enters the egg from the sperm on sperm-egg fusion, activating the egg by stimulating phospholipase C activation through a src family kinase pathway and in mammals by the diffusion of a sperm-specific phospholipase C from sperm to egg on sperm-egg fusion. The fertilization calcium wave is then set into the context of cell cycle control and the mechanism of repetitive calcium spiking in mammalian eggs is investigated. Evidence that calcium signals control cell division in early embryos is reviewed, and it is concluded that calcium signals are essential at all three stages of cell division in early embryos. Evidence that phosphoinositide signalling pathways control the resumption of meiosis during oocyte maturation is considered. It is concluded on balance that the evidence points to a need for phosphoinositide/calcium signalling during resumption of meiosis. Changes to the calcium signalling machinery occur during meiosis to enable the production of a calcium wave in the mature oocyte when it is fertilized; evidence that the shape and structure of the endoplasmic reticulum alters dynamically during maturation and after fertilization is reviewed and the link between ER dynamics and the cytoskeleton is discussed. There is evidence that calcium signalling plays a key part in the development of patterning in early embryos. Morphogenesis in ascidian, frog and zebrafish embryos is briefly described to provide the developmental context in which calcium signals act. Intracellular calcium waves that may play a role in axis formation in ascidian are discussed

Developing consistent time series landsat data products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Landsat series satellite has provided earth observation data record continuously since early 1970s. There are increasing demands on having a consistent time series of Landsat data products. In this presentation, I will summarize the work supported by the USGS Landsat Science Team project from 20...

Grazing effects on aboveground primary production and root biomass of early-seral, mid-seral, and undisturbed semiarid grassland

USGS Publications Warehouse

Milchunas, D.G.; Vandever, M.W.

2013-01-01

Annual/perennial and tall/short plant species differentially dominate early to late successional shortgrass steppe communities. Plant species can have different ratios of above-/below-ground biomass distributions and this can be modified by precipitation and grazing. We compared grazing effects on aboveground production and root biomass in early- and mid-seral fields and undisturbed shortgrass steppe. Production averaged across four years and grazed and ungrazed treatments were 246, 134, and 102 g m−2 yr−1 for the early-, mid-seral, and native sites, respectively, while root biomass averaged 358, 560, and 981 g m−2, respectively. Early- and mid-seral communities provided complimentary forage supplies but at the cost of root biomass. Grazing increased, decreased, or had no effect on aboveground production in early-, mid-seral, and native communities, and had no effect on roots in any. Grazing had some negative effects on early spring forage species, but not in the annual dominated early-seral community. Dominant species increased with grazing in native communities with a long evolutionary history of grazing by large herbivores, but had no effects on the same species in mid-seral communities. Effects of grazing in native communities in a region cannot necessarily be used to predict effects at other seral stages.

Frequency Effects or Context Effects in Second Language Word Learning: What Predicts Early Lexical Production?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crossley, Scott A.; Subtirelu, Nicholas; Salsbury, Tom

2013-01-01

This study examines frequency, contextual diversity, and contextual distinctiveness effects in predicting produced versus not-produced frequent nouns and verbs by early second language (L2) learners of English. The study analyzes whether word frequency is the strongest predictor of early L2 word production independent of contextual diversity and…

Dual odontogenic origins develop at the early stage of rat maxillary incisor development.

PubMed

Kriangkrai, Rungarun; Iseki, Sachiko; Eto, Kazuhiro; Chareonvit, Suconta

2006-03-01

Developmental process of rat maxillary incisor has been studied through histological analysis and investigation of tooth-related gene expression patterns at initial tooth development. The tooth-related genes studied here are fibroblast growth factor-8 (Fgf-8), pituitary homeobox gene-2 (Pitx-2), sonic hedgehog (Shh), muscle segment homeobox-1 (Msx-1), paired box-9 (Pax-9) and bone morphogenetic protein-4 (Bmp-4). The genes are expressed in oral epithelium and/or ectomesenchyme at the stage of epithelial thickening to the early bud stage of tooth development. Both the histological observation and tooth-related gene expression patterns during early stage of maxillary incisor development demonstrate that dual odontogenic origins aligned medio-laterally in the medial nasal process develop, subsequently only single functional maxillary incisor dental placode forms. The cascade of tooth-related gene expression patterns in rat maxillary incisor studied here is quite similar to those of the previous studies in mouse mandibular molar, even though the origins of oral epithelium and ectomesenchyme involved in development of maxillary incisor and mandibular molar are different. Thus, we conclude that maxillary incisor and mandibular molar share a similar signaling control of Fgf-8, Pitx-2, Shh, Msx-1, Pax-9 and Bmp-4 genes at the stage of oral epithelial thickening to the early bud stage of tooth development.

Chaos, Poverty, and Parenting: Predictors of Early Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vernon-Feagans, Lynne; Garrett-Peters, Patricia; Willoughby, Michael; Mills-Koonce, Roger

2012-01-01

Studies have shown that distal family risk factors like poverty and maternal education are strongly related to children's early language development. Yet, few studies have examined these risk factors in combination with more proximal day-to-day experiences of children that might be critical to understanding variation in early language. Young…

PSD-95 is post-transcriptionally repressed during early neural development by PTBP1 and PTBP2.

PubMed

Zheng, Sika; Gray, Erin E; Chawla, Geetanjali; Porse, Bo Torben; O'Dell, Thomas J; Black, Douglas L

2012-01-15

Postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) is essential for synaptic maturation and plasticity. Although its synaptic regulation has been widely studied, the control of PSD-95 cellular expression is not understood. We found that Psd-95 was controlled post-transcriptionally during neural development. Psd-95 was transcribed early in mouse embryonic brain, but most of its product transcripts were degraded. The polypyrimidine tract binding proteins PTBP1 and PTBP2 repressed Psd-95 (also known as Dlg4) exon 18 splicing, leading to premature translation termination and nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. The loss of first PTBP1 and then of PTBP2 during embryonic development allowed splicing of exon 18 and expression of PSD-95 late in neuronal maturation. Re-expression of PTBP1 or PTBP2 in differentiated neurons inhibited PSD-95 expression and impaired the development of glutamatergic synapses. Thus, expression of PSD-95 during early neural development is controlled at the RNA level by two PTB proteins whose sequential downregulation is necessary for synapse maturation.

Characterization of Betula platyphylla gene transcripts associated with early development of male inflorescence.

PubMed

Xing, Lei; Liu, Xue-Mei

2012-02-01

Birch (Betula platyphylla), an eminent tree species in Northeast and Inner Mongolia of China, has been widely used in architecture, furniture, and paper making in recent years. In order to retrieve genes involved in early development of B. platyphylla male inflorescence, RNA populations extracted from early and late developmental stage were analyzed by cDNA-Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP) technique. Following amplification of 256 pairs of primer combinations, ~7000 fragments were generated, of which 350 transcripts expressing more in early stage than late. Of 350 specific transcripts, 198 clear and reproducible electrophoresis bands were retrieved and sequenced successfully, 74 of them (37%) showing significant homologies to known genes after GO annotation. Majority of the predicted gene products were involved in metabolism (24.56%), cellular process (27.19%), response to stimulus (11.4%) and cell growth (8.7%). Transcripts ME56, ME108, ME206 and ME310, representing metabolism, cellular process, response to stimulus and cell growth, respectively, were selected for further study to validate cDNA-AFLP expression patterns via RT-PCR and qRT-PCR analysis. RT-PCR and qRT-PCR expression pattern results were consistent with cDNA-AFLP analysis results.

Early events of citrus greening (Huanglongbing) disease development at the ultrastructural level.

PubMed

Folimonova, Svetlana Y; Achor, Diann S

2010-09-01

Citrus greening (Huanglongbing [HLB]) is one of the most destructive diseases of citrus worldwide. The causal agent of HLB in Florida is thought to be 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus'. Understanding of the early events in HLB infection is critical for the development of effective measures to control the disease. In this work, we conducted cytopathological studies by following the development of the disease in citrus trees graft inoculated with 'Ca. L. asiaticus'-containing material under greenhouse conditions to examine the correlation between ultrastructural changes and symptom production, with the main objective of characterizing the early events of infection. Based on our observations, one of the first degenerative changes induced upon invasion of the pathogen appears to be swelling of middle lamella between cell walls surrounding sieve elements. This anatomical aberration was often observed in samples from newly growing flushes in inoculated sweet orange and grapefruit trees at the early "presymptomatic" stage of HLB infection. Development of symptoms and their progression correlated with an increasing degree of microscopic aberrations. Remarkably, the ability to observe the bacterium in the infected tissue also correlated with the degree of the disease progression. Large numbers of bacterial cells were found in phloem sieve tubes in tissue samples from presymptomatic young flushes. In contrast, we did not observe the bacteria in highly symptomatic leaf samples, suggesting a possibility that, at more advanced stages of the disease, a major proportion of 'Ca. L. asiaticus' is present in a nonviable state. We trust that observations reported here advance our understanding of how 'Ca. L. asiaticus' causes disease. Furthermore, they may be an important aid in answering a question: when and where within an infected tree the tissue serves as a better inoculum source for acquisition and transmission of the bacterium by its psyllid vector.

EARLY CRANIOFACIAL DEVELOPMENT: LIFE AMONG THE SIGNALS

EPA Science Inventory

Early Craniofacial Development: Life Among the Signals. Sid Hunter and Keith Ward. Reproductive Toxicology Division, NHEERL, US EPA, RTP, NC, 27711

Haloacetic acids (HAA) are chemicals formed during drinking water disinfection and present in finished tap water. Exposure o...

Comparing different models of the development of verb inflection in early child Spanish.

PubMed

Aguado-Orea, Javier; Pine, Julian M

2015-01-01

How children acquire knowledge of verb inflection is a long-standing question in language acquisition research. In the present study, we test the predictions of some current constructivist and generativist accounts of the development of verb inflection by focusing on data from two Spanish-speaking children between the ages of 2;0 and 2;6. The constructivist claim that children's early knowledge of verb inflection is only partially productive is tested by comparing the average number of different inflections per verb in matched samples of child and adult speech. The generativist claim that children's early use of verb inflection is essentially error-free is tested by investigating the rate at which the children made subject-verb agreement errors in different parts of the present tense paradigm. Our results show: 1) that, although even adults' use of verb inflection in Spanish tends to look somewhat lexically restricted, both children's use of verb inflection was significantly less flexible than that of their caregivers, and 2) that, although the rate at which the two children produced subject-verb agreement errors in their speech was very low, this overall error rate hid a consistent pattern of error in which error rates were substantially higher in low frequency than in high frequency contexts, and substantially higher for low frequency than for high frequency verbs. These results undermine the claim that children's use of verb inflection is fully productive from the earliest observable stages, and are consistent with the constructivist claim that knowledge of verb inflection develops only gradually.

Early Careerist Interest and Participation in Health Care Leadership Development Programs.

PubMed

Thompson, Jon M; Temple, April

2015-01-01

Health care organizations are increasingly embracing leadership development programs. These programs include a variety of specific activities, such as formally structured leadership development, as well as mentoring, personal development and coaching, 360-degree feedback, and job enlargement, in order to increase the leadership skills of managers and high-potential staff. However, there is a lack of information on how early careerists in health care management view these programs and the degree to which they participate. This article reports on a study undertaken to determine how early careerists working in health care organizations view leadership development programs and their participation in such programs offered by their employers. Study findings are based on a survey of 126 early careerists who are graduates of an undergraduate health services administration program. We found varying levels of interest and participation in specific leadership development activities. In addition, we found that respondents with graduate degrees and those with higher compensation were more likely to participate in selected leadership development program activities. Implications of study findings for health care organizations and early careerists in the offering of, and participation in, leadership development programs are discussed.

External-environmental and internal-health early life predictors of adolescent development.

PubMed

Hartman, Sarah; Li, Zhi; Nettle, Daniel; Belsky, Jay

2017-12-01

A wealth of evidence documents associations between various aspects of the rearing environment and later development. Two evolutionary-inspired models advance explanations for why and how such early experiences shape later functioning: (a) the external-prediction model, which highlights the role of the early environment (e.g., parenting) in regulating children's development, and (b) the internal-prediction model, which emphasizes internal state (i.e., health) as the critical regulator. Thus, by using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the current project draws from both models by investigating whether the effect of the early environment on later adolescent functioning is subject to an indirect effect by internal-health variables. Results showed a significant indirect effect of internal health on the relation between the early environment and adolescent behavior. Specifically, early environmental adversity during the first 5 years of life predicted lower quality health during childhood, which then led to problematic adolescent functioning and earlier age of menarche for girls. In addition, for girls, early adversity predicted lower quality health that forecasted earlier age of menarche leading to increased adolescent risk taking. The discussion highlights the importance of integrating both internal and external models to further understand the developmental processes that effect adolescent behavior.

Developing Prosocial Behaviors in Early Adolescence with Reactive Aggression

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fung, Annis L. C.

2008-01-01

Despite the alarming rise of early adolescence aggression in Hong Kong, it is the pioneer evidence-based outcome study on Anger Coping Training (ACT) program for early adolescence with reactive aggression to develop their prosocial behaviors. This research program involved experimental and control groups with pre- and post-comparison using a …

Swimming Upstream: Developing and Commercializing Diabetes Products in a Patent Protected World

PubMed Central

Hopkins, Brian P.; Miller, Katherine J.

2013-01-01

Many, if not most, commercially available diabetes treatment products are protected by some form of intellectual property. This article discusses the development and commercialization of products in view of the state of intellectual property for the diabetes treatment market, with respect to possible discouragement, for some, from seeking patent protection or commercializing a new product under the belief that patent protection is either unavailable or difficult to come by, or for fear of infringing existing patents. Upon closer investigation, the evolution of technology almost always creates opportunities for new improvements, which likely can be patent protected. Furthermore, while avoiding the claims of existing patents is sometimes challenging and opinion based, and thus not a guarantee of avoiding a patent litigation, patent litigation may be delayed and is often settled early on. PMID:23566985

Drug-device combination products in the twenty-first century: epinephrine auto-injector development using human factors engineering.

PubMed

Edwards, Eric S; Edwards, Evan T; Simons, F Estelle R; North, Robert

2015-05-01

The systematic application of human factors engineering (HFE) principles to the development of drug-device combination products, including epinephrine auto-injectors (EAIs), has the potential to improve the effectiveness and safety of drug administration. A PubMed search was performed to assess the role of HFE in the development of drug-device combination products. The following keywords were used in different combinations: 'human factors engineering,' 'human factors,' 'medical products,' 'epinephrine/adrenaline auto-injector,' 'healthcare' and 'patient safety.' This review provides a summary of HFE principles and their application to the development of drug-device combination products as advised by the US FDA. It also describes the HFE process that was applied to the development of Auvi-Q, a novel EAI, highlighting specific steps that occurred during the product-development program. For drug-device combination products, device labeling and usability are critical and have the potential to impact clinical outcomes. Application of HFE principles to the development of drug-delivery devices has the potential to improve product quality and reliability, reduce risk and improve patient safety when applied early in the development process. Additional clinical and real-world studies will confirm whether the application of HFE has helped to develop an EAI that better meets the needs of patients at risk of anaphylaxis.

Social conversational skills development in early implanted children.

PubMed

Guerzoni, Letizia; Murri, Alessandra; Fabrizi, Enrico; Nicastri, Maria; Mancini, Patrizia; Cuda, Domenico

2016-09-01

Social conversational skills are a salient aspect of early pragmatic development in young children. These skills include two different abilities, assertiveness and responsiveness. This study investigated the development of these abilities in early implanted children and their relationships with lexical development and some language-sensitive variables. Prospective, observational, nonrandomized study. Participants included 28 children with congenital profound sensorineural hearing loss. The mean age at device activation was 13.3 months (standard deviation [SD] ±4.2). The Social-Conversational Skills Rating Scale was used to evaluate assertiveness and responsiveness. The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (Words and Sentences form) was used to analyze the lexical development. The device experience was 12 months for each child, and the mean age at testing was 25.9 months (SD ±4.6). Assertiveness and responsiveness scores were within the normal range of normal-hearing age-matched peers. Age at cochlear implant activation exerted a significant impact, with the highest scores associated to the youngest patients. The residual correlations between assertiveness and responsiveness with the lexical development were positive and strongly significant (r = 0.69 and 0.73, respectively). Preoperative hearing threshold demonstrated an associated significant coefficient on the assertiveness score. Age at diagnosis and maternal education level were not correlated with the social conversational skills. Early-implanted children developed social conversational skills that are similar to normal-hearing peers matched for age 1 year after device activation. Social conversational skills and lexical development were strongly correlated, but the present study design cannot specify the direction of this relationship. Children with better preoperative residual hearing exhibited better assertive ability. 4 Laryngoscope, 126:2098-2105, 2016. © 2015 The American Laryngological

Toward an Integrated View of Early Language and Communication Development and Socioemotional Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prizant, Barry M.; Wetherby, Amy M.

1990-01-01

The article reviews literature on the integrated nature of early communication and socioemotional development in children. It discusses two models, one addressing the role of the development of mutual (interactive) and self-regulatory capacities in young children's socioemotional development, and a transactional model conceptualizing the complex…

Use of Spray-Dried Dispersions in Early Pharmaceutical Development: Theoretical and Practical Challenges.

PubMed

Li, Jinjiang; Patel, Dhaval; Wang, George

2017-03-01

Spray-dried dispersions (SDDs) have become an important formulation technology for the pharmaceutical product development of poorly water-soluble (PWS) compounds. Although this technology is now widely used in the industry, especially in the early-phase development, the lack of mechanistic understanding still causes difficulty in selecting excipients and predicting stability of SDD-based drug products. In this review, the authors aim to discuss several principles of polymer science pertaining to the development of SDDs, in terms of selecting polymers and solvents, optimizing drug loading, as well as assessing physical stability on storage and supersaturation maintenance after dissolution, from both thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. In order to choose compatible solvents with both polymers and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), a symmetric Flory-Huggins interaction (Δχ ∼0) approach was introduced. Regarding spray drying of polymer-API solutions, low critical solution temperature (LCST) was discussed for setting the inlet temperature for drying. In addition, after being exposed to moisture, SDDs are practically converted to ternary systems with asymmetric Flory-Huggins interactions, which are thermodynamically not favored. In this case, the kinetics of phase separation plays a significant role during the storage and dissolution of SDD-based drug products. The impact of polymers on the supersaturation maintenance of APIs in dissolution media was also discussed. Moreover, the nature of SDDs, with reference to solid solution and the notion of solid solubility, was examined in the context of pharmaceutical application. Finally, the importance of robust analytical techniques to characterize the SDD-based drug products was emphasized, considering their complexity.

Endosperm turgor pressure decreases during early Arabidopsis seed development.

PubMed

Beauzamy, Léna; Fourquin, Chloé; Dubrulle, Nelly; Boursiac, Yann; Boudaoud, Arezki; Ingram, Gwyneth

2016-09-15

In Arabidopsis, rapid expansion of the coenocytic endosperm after fertilisation has been proposed to drive early seed growth, which is in turn constrained by the seed coat. This hypothesis implies physical heterogeneity between the endosperm and seed coat compartments during early seed development, which to date has not been demonstrated. Here, we combine tissue indentation with modelling to show that the physical properties of the developing seed are consistent with the hypothesis that elevated endosperm-derived turgor pressure drives early seed expansion. We provide evidence that whole-seed turgor is generated by the endosperm at early developmental stages. Furthermore, we show that endosperm cellularisation and seed growth arrest are associated with a drop in endosperm turgor pressure. Finally, we demonstrate that this decrease is perturbed when the function of POLYCOMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX 2 is lost, suggesting that turgor pressure changes could be a target of genomic imprinting. Our results indicate a developmental role for changes in endosperm turgor pressure in the Arabidopsis seed. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Early childhood development: putting knowledge into action.

PubMed

2000-11-01

As part of its continuing mission to serve trustees and staff of health foundations and corporate giving programs, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) convened a select group of grantmakers and national experts who have made a major commitment to improve the health and well being of young children. The roundtable explored the latest research examining early childhood development, as well as public and private programs serving families with young children. The discussion ultimately centered upon the importance of grantmaker involvement to improve early childhood development, including the services delivered to young children and their families, training for professionals, and continued research and evaluation. This report brings together key points from the day's discussion with factual information on demographic, health and human services, and public policy trends drawn from a background paper prepared for the meeting. When available, recent findings, facts, and figures have been incorporated.

Early development and replacement of the stickleback dentition

PubMed Central

Ellis, Nicholas A.; Donde, Nikunj N.; Miller, Craig T.

2017-01-01

Teeth have long served as a model system to study basic questions about vertebrate organogenesis, morphogenesis, and evolution. In non-mammalian vertebrates, teeth typically regenerate throughout adult life. Fish have evolved a tremendous diversity in dental patterning in both their oral and pharyngeal dentitions, offering numerous opportunities to study how morphology develops, regenerates, and evolves in different lineages. Threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) have emerged as a new system to study how morphology evolves, and provide a particularly powerful system to study the development and evolution of dental morphology. Here we describe the oral and pharyngeal dentitions of stickleback fish, providing additional morphological, histological, and molecular evidence for homology of oral and pharyngeal teeth. Focusing on the ventral pharyngeal dentition in a dense developmental time course of lab-reared fish, we describe the temporal and spatial consensus sequence of early tooth formation. Early in development, this sequence is highly stereotypical and consists of seventeen primary teeth forming the early tooth field, followed by the first tooth replacement event. Comparing this detailed morphological and ontogenetic sequence to that described in other fish reveals that major changes to how dental morphology arises and regenerates have evolved across different fish lineages. PMID:27145214

Cognitive Development in Early Readers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Briggs, Chari; Elkind, David

Some studies of early readers are discussed. It is pointed out that study of early readers has relevance for practical and theoretical issues in psychology and education. Of interest in this document are the following questions: (1) Are there any special talents or traits distinguishing early from non-early readers? (2) Do children who read early…

Probable influence of early Carboniferous (Tournaisian-early Visean) geography on the development of Waulsortian and Waulsortian-like mounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, David T., Jr.

1990-07-01

All of the known Tournaisian-early Visean (ca. 360-348 Ma) age carbonate mud mounds (Waulsortian and Waulsortian-like mounds) developed in low paleolatitudes on the southern shelf margin of Laurussia and in the Laurussian interior seaway. The Tournaisian-early Visean geography probably prevented hurricanes, tropical storms, and winter storms from crossing the shelf margin or interior seaway where these mounds developed. Implications of the lack of storm energy on mound development are discussed.

Fine-tuning of the flavonoid and monolignol pathways during apple early fruit development.

PubMed

Baldi, Paolo; Moser, Mirko; Brilli, Matteo; Vrhovsek, Urska; Pindo, Massimo; Si-Ammour, Azeddine

2017-05-01

A coordinated regulation of different branches of the flavonoid pathway was highlighted that may contribute to elucidate the role of this important class of compounds during the early stages of apple fruit development. Apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) is an economically important fruit appreciated for its organoleptic characteristics and its benefits for human health. The first stages after fruit set represent a very important and still poorly characterized developmental process. To enable the profiling of genes involved in apple early fruit development, we combined the suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) protocol to next-generation sequencing. We identified and characterized genes induced and repressed during fruit development in the apple cultivar 'Golden Delicious'. Our results showed an opposite regulation of genes coding for enzymes belonging to flavonoid and monolignol pathways, with a strong induction of the former and a simultaneous repression of the latter. Two isoforms of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and 4-coumarate:CoA ligase, key enzymes located at the branching point between flavonoid and monolignol pathways, showed opposite expression patterns during the period in analysis, suggesting a possible regulation mechanism. A targeted metabolomic analysis supported the SSH results and revealed an accumulation of the monomers catechin and epicatechin as well as several forms of procyanidin oligomers in apple fruitlets starting early after anthesis, together with a decreased production of other classes of flavonoids such as some flavonols and the dihydrochalcone phlorizin. Moreover, gene expression and metabolites accumulation of 'Golden Delicious' were compared to a wild apple genotype of Manchurian crabapple (Malus mandshurica (Maxim.) Kom.). Significant differences in both gene expression and metabolites accumulation were found between the two genotypes.

45 CFR 1304.21 - Education and early childhood development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... as art, music, movement, and dialogue; (iii) Promoting interaction and language use among children... DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND... early childhood development. (a) Child development and education approach for all children. (1) In order...

45 CFR 1304.21 - Education and early childhood development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... as art, music, movement, and dialogue; (iii) Promoting interaction and language use among children... DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND... early childhood development. (a) Child development and education approach for all children. (1) In order...

45 CFR 1304.21 - Education and early childhood development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... as art, music, movement, and dialogue; (iii) Promoting interaction and language use among children... DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND... early childhood development. (a) Child development and education approach for all children. (1) In order...

45 CFR 1304.21 - Education and early childhood development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... as art, music, movement, and dialogue; (iii) Promoting interaction and language use among children... DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND... early childhood development. (a) Child development and education approach for all children. (1) In order...

Effects of the level of early productivity on the lifespan of ewes in contrasting flock environments.

PubMed

Douhard, F; Jopson, N B; Friggens, N C; Amer, P R

2016-12-01

Selection for high levels of prolificacy has allowed substantial improvements in the production efficiency of New Zealand (NZ) sheep farms, but the consequences on ewe lifetime performance are mostly unknown. In this study, the relationship between the level of prolificacy early in ewes' productive lives and their probability to survive later (i.e. stayability) was evaluated in two contrasting NZ flock environments. Records were obtained from 6605 ewes from four ram breeder flocks representing either a moderate (n=2) or a highly variable (n=2) nutritional environment. All ewes lambed for the first time at 2 years of age and were mated the following year. The number of lambs born during the first 2 years of productive life (NLB2-3) was used as a measure of early prolificacy. Effects of NLB2-3 on stayability to 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 years old were analysed using logistic regression. Curvilinear effects (logit-transformed) were detected (P<0.05) until stayability to 6 years and to 8 years old in the highly variable and the moderate environment, respectively. The NLB2-3 that resulted in maximum expected stayability to various ages was 3.9 to 4.2, and 4.5 to 4.7 lambs in the highly variable and in the moderate flock environments, respectively. In addition, ewe stayability was reduced when the proportion of the litter that survived from birth to weaning (i.e. ewe rearing ability) was submaximal during the early productive life. High prolific ewes had a low rearing ability whatever the environment whereas the rearing ability of lowly prolific ewes was apparently more sensitive to the nutritional environment. The poor maternal performance of ewes with low levels of NLB2-3 led to a premature culling by breeders whereas the high early reproductive effort associated with high levels of NLB2-3 seemed to be at the cost of ewes' survival, even in the moderate flock environment. In conclusion, the flock environment influenced the level of early prolificacy beyond which ewe longevity

Early childhood obesity is associated with compromised cerebellar development.

PubMed

Miller, Jennifer L; Couch, Jessica; Schwenk, Krista; Long, Michelle; Towler, Stephen; Theriaque, Douglas W; He, Guojun; Liu, Yijun; Driscoll, Daniel J; Leonard, Christiana M

2009-01-01

As part of a study investigating commonalities between Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS-a genetic imprinting disorder) and early-onset obesity of unknown etiology (EMO) we measured total cerebral and cerebellar volume on volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images. Individuals with PWS (N = 16) and EMO (N = 12) had smaller cerebellar volumes than a control group of 15 siblings (p = .02 control vs. EMO; p = .0005 control vs. PWS), although there was no difference among the groups in cerebral volume. Individuals with PWS and EMO also had impaired cognitive function: general intellectual ability (GIA): PWS 65 +/- 25; EMO 81 +/- 19; and Controls 112 +/- 13 (p < .0001 controls vs. PWS and controls vs. EMO). As both conditions are characterized by early-onset obesity and slowed cognitive development, these results raise the possibility that early childhood obesity retards both cerebellar and cognitive development.

Confocal Imaging of Early Heart Development in Xenopus laevis

PubMed Central

Kolker, Sandra J.; Tajchman, Urszula; Weeks, Daniel L.

2013-01-01

Xenopus laevis provides a number of advantages for studies on cardiovascular development. The embryos are fairly large, easy to obtain, and can develop at ambient temperature in simple buffer solutions. Although classic descriptions of heart development exist, the ability to use whole mount immunohistochemical methods and confocal microscopy may enhance the ability to understand both normal and experimentally perturbed cardiovascular development. We have started to examine the early stages of cardiac development in Xenopus, seeking to identify antibodies and fixatives that allow easy examination of the developing heart. We have used monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) raised against bovine cardiac troponin T and chicken tropomyosin to visualize cardiac muscle, a goat antibody recognizing bovine type VI collagen to stain the lining of vessels, and the JB3 mAb raised against chicken fibrillin which allows the visualization of a variety of cardiovascular tissues during early development. Results from embryonic stages 24–46 are presented. PMID:10644411

Early life exposure to environmental tobacco smoke alters immune response to asbestos via a shift in inflammatory phenotype resulting in increased disease development

PubMed Central

Brown, Traci A.; Holian, Andrij; Pinkerton, Kent E.; Lee, Joong Won; Cho, Yoon Hee

2016-01-01

Asbestos in combination with tobacco smoke exposure reportedly leads to more severe physiological consequences than asbestos alone; limited data also show an increased disease risk due to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure. Environmental influences during gestation and early lung development can result in physiological changes that alter risk for disease development throughout an individual’s lifetime. Therefore, maternal lifestyle may impact the ability of offspring to subsequently respond to environmental insults and alter overall disease susceptibility. In this study, we examined the effects of exposure to ETS in utero and during early postnatal development on asbestos-related inflammation and disease in adulthood. ETS exposure in utero appeared to shift inflammation towards a Th2 phenotype, via suppression of Th1 inflammatory cytokine production. This effect was further pronounced in mice exposed to ETS in utero and during early postnatal development. In utero ETS exposure led to increased collagen deposition, a marker of fibrotic disease, when the offspring was later exposed to asbestos, which was further increased with additional ETS exposure during early postnatal development. These data suggest that ETS exposure in utero alters the immune responses and leads to greater disease development after asbestos exposure, which is further exacerbated when exposure to ETS continues during early postnatal development. PMID:27138493

Early life exposure to environmental tobacco smoke alters immune response to asbestos via a shift in inflammatory phenotype resulting in increased disease development.

PubMed

Brown, Traci Ann; Holian, Andrij; Pinkerton, Kent E; Lee, Joong Won; Cho, Yoon Hee

2016-07-01

Asbestos in combination with tobacco smoke exposure reportedly leads to more severe physiological consequences than asbestos alone; limited data also show an increased disease risk due to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure. Environmental influences during gestation and early lung development can result in physiological changes that alter risk for disease development throughout an individual's lifetime. Therefore, maternal lifestyle may impact the ability of offspring to subsequently respond to environmental insults and alter overall disease susceptibility. In this study, we examined the effects of exposure to ETS in utero and during early postnatal development on asbestos-related inflammation and disease in adulthood. ETS exposure in utero appeared to shift inflammation towards a Th2 phenotype, via suppression of Th1 inflammatory cytokine production. This effect was further pronounced in mice exposed to ETS in utero and during early postnatal development. In utero ETS exposure led to increased collagen deposition, a marker of fibrotic disease, when the offspring was later exposed to asbestos, which was further increased with additional ETS exposure during early postnatal development. These data suggest that ETS exposure in utero alters the immune responses and leads to greater disease development after asbestos exposure, which is further exacerbated when exposure to ETS continues during early postnatal development.

Development of a Human Neurovascular Unit Organotypic Systems Model of Early Brain Development

EPA Science Inventory

The inability to model human brain and blood-brain barrier development in vitro poses a major challenge in studies of how chemicals impact early neurogenic periods. During human development, disruption of thyroid hormone (TH) signaling is related to adverse morphological effects ...

Hazards to Early Development: The Biological Embedding of Early Life Adversity.

PubMed

Nelson, Charles A

2017-10-11

The number of children under 18 years of age has increased worldwide over the past decade. This growth spurt is due, in part, to remarkable progress in child survival. Alas, surviving early hazards, like prematurity or infectious disease, does not guarantee that children's development will not be compromised by other hazards as they grow older. Throughout the world, children continue to be confronted with a large number of biological and psychosocial challenges that greatly limit their developmental potential. The focus of this article is how such adverse experiences impact the developing brain. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early communicative gestures and play as predictors of language development in children born with and without family risk for dyslexia.

PubMed

Unhjem, Astrid; Eklund, Kenneth; Nergård-Nilssen, Trude

2014-08-01

The present study investigated early communicative gestures, play, and language skills in children born with family risk for dyslexia (FR) and a control group of children without this inheritable risk at ages 12, 15, 18, and 24 months. Participants were drawn from the Tromsø Longitudinal study of Dyslexia (TLD) which follows children's cognitive and language development from age 12 months through Grade 2 in order to identify early markers of developmental dyslexia. Results showed that symbolic play and parent reported play at age 12 months and communicative gestures at age 15 months explained 61% of the variance in productive language at 24 months in the FR group. These early nonlinguistic measures seem to be potentially interesting markers of later language development in children born at risk for dyslexia. © 2014 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Early childhood traumatic development and its impact on gender identity.

PubMed

Cohen, Y

2001-03-01

The author clarifies issues of gender identity typical to contemporary Western societies. Nowadays, we tend to emphasize self-autonomy as the main target of the individual's development. In adolescence this may cause many questions as to the adolescent's conception of his or her gender and sexual identity. These questions are the outcome of early development, and thus early traumas may impact the entire gender development. In this context, trauma includes not only major violations such as sexual abuse, terror attacks, and so forth, but also comprises events heretofore considered minor.

Early Phonological Development: Creating an Assessment Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoel-Gammon, Carol; Williams, A. Lynn

2013-01-01

This paper describes a new protocol for assessing the phonological systems of two-year-olds with typical development and older children with delays in vocabulary acquisition. The test (Profiles of Early Expressive Phonological Skills ("PEEPS"), Williams & Stoel-Gammon, in preparation) differs from currently available assessments in…

S-(-)equol production is developmentally regulated and related to early diet composition.

PubMed

Brown, Nadine M; Galandi, Stephanie L; Summer, Suzanne S; Zhao, Xueheng; Heubi, James E; King, Eileen C; Setchell, Kenneth D R

2014-05-01

S-(-)7-hydroxy-3-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman, or S-(-)equol, a biologically active intestinally derived bacterial metabolite of the soy isoflavones daidzin/daidzein, is not produced in neonatal life. Because its synthesis is dependent on equol-producing bacteria, we hypothesized that early nutrition may influence equol production. This prospective 2.5-year study determined the frequency of S-(-)equol production in healthy infants (n = 90) fed breast milk, soy infant formula, or cow's milk formula in their first year. Urinary S-(-)equol and daidzein were quantified by mass spectrometry after a standardized 3.5-day soy isoflavone challenge. Infants were tested at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months of age, and 3-day diet records were obtained at each visit to explore the effect of early and postweaning (>12 months) macronutrient and micronutrient dietary composition and S-(-)equol production. Use of antibiotics was also recorded. At age 6 months, none of the breast-fed infants produced S-(-)equol, whereas 3.8% and 6.0%, respectively, of soy and cow's milk formula-fed infants were equol producers. By age 3 years, 50% of the formula-fed infants were equol producers, compared with 25% of breast-fed infants. Use of antibiotics was prevalent among infants and may have impacted the stability of S-(-)equol production. No significant differences among the groups were observed in postweaning dietary intakes of total energy, carbohydrate, fiber, protein, fat, saturated fatty acids, or polyunsaturated fatty acids and the propensity to make S-(-)equol. In conclusion, S-(-)equol production is developmentally regulated and initially related to diet composition with the proportion of equol producers increasing over the first 3 years of life, with a trend for formula feeding favoring S-(-)equol production. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Activated ovarian endothelial cells promote early follicular development and survival.

PubMed

Kedem, Alon; Aelion-Brauer, Anate; Guo, Peipei; Wen, Duancheng; Ding, Bi-Sen; Lis, Raphael; Cheng, Du; Sandler, Vladislav M; Rafii, Shahin; Rosenwaks, Zev

2017-09-19

New data suggests that endothelial cells (ECs) elaborate essential "angiocrine factors". The aim of this study is to investigate the role of activated ovarian endothelial cells in early in-vitro follicular development. Mouse ovarian ECs were isolated using magnetic cell sorting or by FACS and cultured in serum free media. After a constitutive activation of the Akt pathway was initiated, early follicles (50-150 um) were mechanically isolated from 8-day-old mice and co-cultured with these activated ovarian endothelial cells (AOEC) (n = 32), gel (n = 24) or within matrigel (n = 27) in serum free media for 14 days. Follicular growth, survival and function were assessed. After 6 passages, flow cytometry showed 93% of cells grown in serum-free culture were VE-cadherin positive, CD-31 positive and CD 45 negative, matching the known EC profile. Beginning on day 4 of culture, we observed significantly higher follicular and oocyte growth rates in follicles co-cultured with AOECs compared with follicles on gel or matrigel. After 14 days of culture, 73% of primary follicles and 83% of secondary follicles co-cultured with AOEC survived, whereas the majority of follicles cultured on gel or matrigel underwent atresia. This is the first report of successful isolation and culture of ovarian ECs. We suggest that co-culture with activated ovarian ECs promotes early follicular development and survival. This model is a novel platform for the in vitro maturation of early follicles and for the future exploration of endothelial-follicular communication. In vitro development of early follicles necessitates a complex interplay of growth factors and signals required for development. Endothelial cells (ECs) may elaborate essential "angiocrine factors" involved in organ regeneration. We demonstrate that co-culture with ovarian ECs enables culture of primary and early secondary mouse ovarian follicles.

Lexically-based learning and early grammatical development.

PubMed

Lieven, E V; Pine, J M; Baldwin, G

1997-02-01

Pine & Lieven (1993) suggest that a lexically-based positional analysis can account for the structure of a considerable proportion of children's early multiword corpora. The present study tests this claim on a second, larger sample of eleven children aged between 1;0 and 3;0 from a different social background, and extends the analysis to later in development. Results indicate that the positional analysis can account for a mean of 60% of all the children's multiword utterances and that the great majority of all other utterances are defined as frozen by the analysis. Alternative explanations of the data based on hypothesizing underlying syntactic or semantic relations are investigated through analyses of pronoun case marking and of verbs with prototypical agent-patient roles. Neither supports the view that the children's utterances are being produced on the basis of general underlying rules and categories. The implications of widespread distributional learning in early language development are discussed.

Ceratopteris richardii: a productive model for revealing secrets of signaling and development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterjee, A.; Roux, S. J.

2000-01-01

Ceratopteris richardii is an aquatic fern grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is proven to be a productive model system for studies in the genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology of basic biologic processes that occur in early gametophytic development. It provides several advantages to biologists, especially those interested in gravitational biology, polarity development, and in the genetics of sexual development. It is easy to culture, has a relatively short life cycle, and offers an array of attractive features that facilitate genetic studies. The germination and early development of large populations of genetically identical spores are easy to synchronize, and both the direction of polarity development and cell-level gravity responses can be measured and readily manipulated within the first 24 h of spore development. Although there is no reliable transformation system available yet in Ceratopteris, recent studies suggest that the technique of RNA interference can be used to block translation of specific genes in a related fern, Marsilea, and current studies will soon reveal the applicability of this approach, as well as of other transformation approaches, in Ceratopteris. A recently completed expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing project makes available the partial sequence of more than 2000 cDNAs, representing a significant percentage of the genes being expressed during the first 24 h of spore germination, when many developmentally interesting processes are occurring. A microarray of these ESTs is being constructed, so especially for those scientists interested in basic cellular phenomena that occur early in spore germination, the availability of the ESTs and of the microarray will make Ceratopteris an even more attractive model system.

Ceratopteris richardii: a productive model for revealing secrets of signaling and development.

PubMed

Chatterjee, A; Roux, S J

2000-09-01

Ceratopteris richardii is an aquatic fern grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is proven to be a productive model system for studies in the genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology of basic biologic processes that occur in early gametophytic development. It provides several advantages to biologists, especially those interested in gravitational biology, polarity development, and in the genetics of sexual development. It is easy to culture, has a relatively short life cycle, and offers an array of attractive features that facilitate genetic studies. The germination and early development of large populations of genetically identical spores are easy to synchronize, and both the direction of polarity development and cell-level gravity responses can be measured and readily manipulated within the first 24 h of spore development. Although there is no reliable transformation system available yet in Ceratopteris, recent studies suggest that the technique of RNA interference can be used to block translation of specific genes in a related fern, Marsilea, and current studies will soon reveal the applicability of this approach, as well as of other transformation approaches, in Ceratopteris. A recently completed expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing project makes available the partial sequence of more than 2000 cDNAs, representing a significant percentage of the genes being expressed during the first 24 h of spore germination, when many developmentally interesting processes are occurring. A microarray of these ESTs is being constructed, so especially for those scientists interested in basic cellular phenomena that occur early in spore germination, the availability of the ESTs and of the microarray will make Ceratopteris an even more attractive model system.

Aesthetic Experience and Early Language and Literacy Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Helen L.

2007-01-01

The present paper explores the connections between theory and research in language development and aesthetic education and their implications for early childhood classroom practice. The present paper posits that arts experiences make a unique and vital contribution to the child's development of language and literacy, as well as to the sense of…

Proteome profiling of early seed development in Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook

PubMed Central

Shi, Jisen; Zhen, Yan; Zheng, Ren-Hua

2010-01-01

Knowledge of the proteome of the early gymnosperm embryo could provide important information for optimizing plant cloning procedures and for establishing platforms for research into plant development/regulation and in vitro transgenic studies. Compared with angiosperms, it is more difficult to induce somatic embryogenesis in gymnosperms; success in this endeavour could be increased, however, if proteomic information was available on the complex, dynamic, and multistage processes of gymnosperm embryogenesis in vivo. A proteomic analysis of Chinese fir seeds in six developmental stages was carried out during early embryogenesis. Proteins were extracted from seeds dissected from immature cones and separated by two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis. Analysis with DeCyder 6.5 software revealed 136 spots that differed in kinetics of appearance. Analysis by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry identified proteins represented by 71 of the spots. Functional annotation of these seed proteins revealed their involvement in programmed cell death and chromatin modification, indicating that the proteins may play a central role in determining the number of zygotic embryos generated and controlling embryo patterning and shape remodelling. The analysis also revealed other proteins involved in carbon metabolism, methionine metabolism, energy production, protein storage, synthesis and stabilization, disease/defence, the cytoskeleton, and embryo development. The comprehensive protein expression profiles generated by our study provide new insights into the complex developmental processes in the seeds of the Chinese fir. PMID:20363864

Swimming upstream: developing and commercializing diabetes products in a patent protected world.

PubMed

Hopkins, Brian P; Miller, Katherine J

2013-03-01

Many, if not most, commercially available diabetes treatment products are protected by some form of intellectual property. This article discusses the development and commercialization of products in view of the state of intellectual property for the diabetes treatment market, with respect to possible discouragement, for some, from seeking patent protection or commercializing a new product under the belief that patent protection is either unavailable or difficult to come by, or for fear of infringing existing patents. Upon closer investigation, the evolution of technology almost always creates opportunities for new improvements, which likely can be patent protected. Furthermore, while avoiding the claims of existing patents is sometimes challenging and opinion based, and thus not a guarantee of avoiding a patent litigation, patent litigation may be delayed and is often settled early on. © 2013 Diabetes Technology Society.

Conditions on Early Mars Might Have Fostered Rapid and Early Development of Life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, Everett K.; McKay, David S.; Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.; Clemett, Simon J.; Wentworth, Susan J.

2007-01-01

The exploration of Mars during the past decades has begun to unveil the history of the planet. The combinations of remote sensing, in situ geochemical compositional measurements and photographic observations from both above and on the surface have shown Mars to have a dynamic and active geologic evolution. Mars geologic evolution clearly had conditions that were suitable for supporting life. For a planet to be able to be habitable, it must have water, carbon sources, energy sources and a dynamic geologic past. Mars meets all of these requirements. The first 600 My of Martian history were ripe for life to develop because of the abundance of (i) Water-carved canyons and oceans or lakes with the early presence of near surface water shown by precipitated carbonates in ALH84001 well-dated at approx.3.9 Gy., (ii) Energy from the original accretional processes, a molten core which generated a strong magnetic field leaving a permanent record in the early crust, early active volcanism continuing throughout Martian history, and, and continuing impact processes, (iii) Carbon and water from possibly extensive volcanic outgassing (i.e. H2O, CO2, CH4, CO, O2, N2, H2S, SO2, etc.) and (iv) some crustal tectonics as revealed by faulting and possible plate movement reflected by the magnetic pattern in the crust. The question arises: "Why would life not evolve from these favorable conditions on early Mars in its first 600 My?" During this period, it seems likely that environmental near-surface conditions on Mars were more favorable to life than at any later time. Standing bodies of water, precipitation and flowing surface water, and possibly abundant hydrothermal energy would all favor the formation of early life. Even if life developed elsewhere (on Earth, Venus, or on other solar systems) and was transported to Mars, the surface conditions were likely very hospitable for that introduced life to multiply and evolve.

New Hampshire Early Childhood Professional Development System: Guide to Early Childhood Careers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McDonnell, Tessa, Ed.

The community of child care providers in New Hampshire has adopted the Early Childhood Professional Development System as an initial step toward assuring quality care and education for children. This guide describes the components of that system and is presented in eight sections. Section 1 of the guide introduces the system based on a set of two…

Onecut1 and Onecut2 redundantly regulate early retinal cell fates during development

PubMed Central

Sapkota, Darshan; Chintala, Hemabindu; Wu, Fuguo; Fliesler, Steven J.; Hu, Zihua; Mu, Xiuqian

2014-01-01

Previously, we have shown that Onecut1 (Oc1) and Onecut2 (Oc2) are expressed in retinal progenitor cells, developing retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), and horizontal cells (HCs). However, in Oc1-null mice, we only observed an 80% reduction in HCs, but no defects in other cell types. We postulated that the lack of defects in other cell types in Oc1-null retinas was a result of redundancy with Oc2. To test this theory, we have generated Oc2-null mice and now show that their retinas also only have defects in HCs, with a 50% reduction in their numbers. However, when both Oc1 and Oc2 are knocked out, the retinas exhibit more profound defects in the development of all early retinal cell types, including completely failed genesis of HCs, compromised generation of cones, reduced production (by 30%) of RGCs, and absence of starburst amacrine cells. Cone subtype diversification and RGC subtype composition also were affected in the double-null retina. Using RNA-Seq expression profiling, we have identified downstream genes of Oc1 and Oc2, which not only confirms the redundancy between the two factors and renders a molecular explanation for the defects in the double-null retinas, but also shows that the onecut factors suppress the production of the late cell type, rods, indicating that the two factors contribute to the competence of retinal progenitor cells for the early retinal cell fates. Our results provide insight into how onecut factors regulate the creation of cellular diversity in the retina and, by extension, in the central nervous system in general. PMID:25228773

Attentional and affective biases for attractive females emerge early in development.

PubMed

Rennels, Jennifer Lynn; Verba, Stephanie Ann

2017-01-01

Predominant experience with females early in development results in infants developing an attractive, female-like facial representation that guides children's attention toward and affective preferences for attractive females. When combined with increased interest in the other sex at puberty, these early emerging biases might help explain the robust prosocial and financial biases men exhibit toward attractive women during adulthood.

A regional study of loblolly pine plantation development through 15 years after early complete woody and herbaceous plant control (COMP)

Treesearch

James H. Miller; B.R. Zutter; S.M Zedaker; M.B. Edwards; R.A. Newbold

2002-01-01

Pine plantations are increasingly cultured using early woody and/or herbaceous plant control. Developments in sustainable cultural practices are hindered by the absence of long-term data on productivity gains relative to competition levels, crop-competition dynamics, and compositional succession. To gain baseline data, this study examined loblolly pine (Pinus...

Early Intervention, Maternal Development and Children's Play.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slaughter, Diana T.

The purposes of this longitudinal study of early intervention with 83 black mother-child dyads were (a) to test the thesis that sociocultural transmission influences childhood development in educationally significant ways, and (b) to describe the process through which such transmission can occur. Two social intervention programs were contrasted;…

Developing Adaptive Systems at Early Stages of Children's Foreign Language Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Espada, Ana Belen Cumbreno; Garcia, Mercedes Rico; Fuentes, Alejandro Curado; Gomez, Eva Ma Dominguez

2006-01-01

This paper describes the integration of hypermedia adaptive systems for foreign language learners at an early age. Our research project is concerned with exploring the relationship between language learning and information technology according to six different phases: a preliminary study of the plausible adaptive system; the development of lessons…

Recombinant Protein Production from TPO Gen Cloning and Expression for Early Detection of Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aulanni'am, Aulanni'am; Kinasih Wuragil, Dyah; Wahono Soeatmadji, Djoko; Zulkarnain; Marhendra, Agung Pramana W.

2018-01-01

Autoimmune Thyroid Disease (AITD) is an autoimmune disease that has many clinical symptoms but is difficult to detect at the onset of disease progression. Most thyroid autoimmune disease patients are positive with high titre of thyroid autoantibodies, especially thyroid peroxidase (TPO). The detection AITD are still needed because these tests are extremely high cost and have not regularly been performed in most of clinical laboratories. In the past, we have explored the autoimmune disease marker and it has been developed as source of polyclonal antibodies from patient origin. In the current study, we develop recombinant protein which resulted from cloning and expression of TPO gene from normal person and AITD patients. This work flows involves: DNA isolation and PCR to obtain TPO gene from human blood, insertion of TPO gene to plasmid and transformation to E. coli BL21, Bacterial culture to obtain protein product, protein purification and product analysis. This products can use for application to immunochromatography based test. This work could achieved with the goal of producing autoimmune markers with a guaranteed quality, sensitive, specific and economically. So with the collaboration with industries these devices could be used for early detection. Keywords: recombinant protein, TPO gene, Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD)ction of the diseases in the community.

Entropy production during an isothermal phase transition in the early universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaempfer, B.

The analytical model of Lodenquai and Dixit (1983) and of Bonometto and Matarrese (1983) of an isothermal era in the early universe is extended here to arbitrary temperatures. It is found that a sufficiently large supercooling gives rise to a large entropy production which may significantly dilute the primordial monopole or baryon to entropy ratio. Whether such large supercooling can be achieved depends on the characteristics of the nucleation process.

[Production of glass in early middle ages].

PubMed

Zimmermann, Martin

2011-01-01

For the production of glass three ingredients are necessary: sand, a flux to reduce the melting-temperature and calcium to reduce the danger of glass corrosion. The first objects of glass were made with calcium-rich ashes of halophytic plants, until, in the first millennium BC, the glassmakers began to use natron as a flux adding calcium deliberately or choosing a calcium-rich sand. Natron, a mineral applied to fertilize or to preserve, as a spice, a detergent or part of medical and cosmetic articles, was exploited in the regions south and east of the Mediterranean, so the Central European glassmakers had to import natron or the prefabricated raw glass for their work. Beginning in the 8th century AD in Central Europe the flux changed again: The glassmakers increasingly used ashes from wood growing in their native regions so becoming independent of the necessity to import the raw materials. There are various reasons for this change: First, the Mediterranean was no longer the trade area it had been at the time of the antique Roman Empire due to the activities of the Byzantine navy. Then, the climatic change in the 8th century and political upheavals during the 9th century in Egypt--being the main supplier of natron--caused a decrease in exploitation and trade with this good. Finally, the Egyptian state established a monopoly on the natron production, causing a permanent price increase. Nevertheless, during the Early Middle Ages natron was imported into Europe, although not necessarily for glass production. The article shows that glassmakers of Central Europe were able to produce glass since the end of the Western Roman Empire on the basis of the transfer of raw materials and know-how from the East. From the 8th century onwards they emancipated themselves from the dependency on imports by discovering and using native materials for glass production.

Early psychosis workforce development: Core competencies for mental health professionals working in the early psychosis field.

PubMed

Osman, Helen; Jorm, Anthony F; Killackey, Eoin; Francey, Shona; Mulcahy, Dianne

2017-08-09

The aim of this study was to identify the core competencies required of mental health professionals working in the early psychosis field, which could function as an evidence-based tool to support the early psychosis workforce and in turn assist early psychosis service implementation and strengthen early psychosis model fidelity. The Delphi method was used to establish expert consensus on the core competencies. In the first stage, a systematic literature search was conducted to generate competency items. In the second stage, a panel consisting of expert early psychosis clinicians from around the world was formed. Panel members then rated each of the competency items on how essential they are to the clinical practice of all early psychosis clinicians. In total, 1023 pieces of literature including textbooks, journal articles and grey literature were reviewed. A final 542 competency items were identified for inclusion in the questionnaire. A total of 63 early psychosis experts participated in 3 rating rounds. Of the 542 competency items, 242 were endorsed as the required core competencies. There were 29 competency items that were endorsed by 62 or more experts, and these may be considered the foundational competencies for early psychosis practice. The study generated a set of core competencies that provide a common language for early psychosis clinicians across professional disciplines and country of practice, and potentially are a useful professional resource to support early psychosis workforce development and service reform. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Developing the science product algorithm testbed for Chinese next-generation geostationary meteorological satellites: Fengyun-4 series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Min; Wu, Chunqiang; Li, Chuan; Liu, Hui; Xu, Na; Wu, Xiao; Chen, Lin; Wang, Fu; Sun, Fenglin; Qin, Danyu; Wang, Xi; Li, Bo; Zheng, Zhaojun; Cao, Guangzhen; Dong, Lixin

2017-08-01

Fengyun-4A (FY-4A), the first of the Chinese next-generation geostationary meteorological satellites, launched in 2016, offers several advances over the FY-2: more spectral bands, faster imaging, and infrared hyperspectral measurements. To support the major objective of developing the prototypes of FY-4 science algorithms, two science product algorithm testbeds for imagers and sounders have been developed by the scientists in the FY-4 Algorithm Working Group (AWG). Both testbeds, written in FORTRAN and C programming languages for Linux or UNIX systems, have been tested successfully by using Intel/g compilers. Some important FY-4 science products, including cloud mask, cloud properties, and temperature profiles, have been retrieved successfully through using a proxy imager, Himawari-8/Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), and sounder data, obtained from the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder, thus demonstrating their robustness. In addition, in early 2016, the FY-4 AWG was developed based on the imager testbed—a near real-time processing system for Himawari-8/AHI data for use by Chinese weather forecasters. Consequently, robust and flexible science product algorithm testbeds have provided essential and productive tools for popularizing FY-4 data and developing substantial improvements in FY-4 products.

Perceived family relationship quality and use of poly-tobacco products during early and late adolescence.

PubMed

Luk, Tzu Tsun; Wang, Man Ping; Leung, Lok Tung; Chen, Jianjiu; Wu, Yongda; Lam, Tai Hing; Ho, Sai Yin

2018-10-01

The role of family relationship in adolescent use of emerging tobacco products, which have become increasingly popular, is unknown. We examined the associations of perceived family relationship quality with current use of poly-tobacco products including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), waterpipe and smokeless tobacco in adolescents. Data from a representative sample of 42,250 US grade 7-12 equivalent students (mean ± SD age 14.6 ± 1.9 years; 51.3% boys) from 75 randomly selected secondary schools in Hong Kong (2012-13) were analysed. Logistic regressions yielded adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for current (past 30-day) use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, waterpipe, smokeless tobacco and poly-tobacco (≥2 products) in relation to perceived family relationship quality, adjusted for age, sex, perceived family affluence, parental education, family structure, parental and sibling smoking and secondhand smoke exposure at home. Subgroup analyses were conducted to compare the associations in early (aged ≤14 years) versus late (>14) adolescents. The odds of current use increased with worse perceived family relationship quality with AORs (95% confidence interval) of up to 2.92 (2.32-3.68) for cigarettes, 7.28 (4.71-11.2) for e-cigarettes, 5.04 (3.44-7.40) for waterpipe, 8.09 (4.87-13.4) for smokeless tobacco and 5.25 (3.45-8.01) for poly-tobacco products use (all P for trend <.001). The associations for all tobacco use outcomes were stronger in early than late adolescents (all P for interaction <.001). Dose-response relationships were found between negatively perceived family relationship quality and current poly- and individual tobacco product use by Hong Kong Chinese secondary students. The associations were stronger for alternative tobacco products and in early adolescents. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

XBtg2 is required for notochord differentiation during early Xenopus development.

PubMed

Sugimoto, Kaoru; Hayata, Tadayoshi; Asashima, Makoto

2005-09-01

The notochord is essential for normal vertebrate development, serving as both a structural support for the embryo and a signaling source for the patterning of adjacent tissues. Previous studies on the notochord have mostly focused on its formation and function in early organogenesis but gene regulation in the differentiation of notochord cells itself remains poorly defined. In the course of screening for genes expressed in developing notochord, we have isolated Xenopus homolog of Btg2 (XBtg2). The mammalian Btg2 genes, Btg2/PC3/TIS21, have been reported to have multiple functions in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation but their roles in early development are still unclear. Here we characterized XBtg2 in early Xenopus laevis embryogenesis with focus on notochord development. Translational inhibition of XBtg2 resulted in a shortened and bent axis phenotype and the abnormal structures in the notochord tissue, which did not undergo vacuolation. The XBtg2-depleted notochord cells expressed early notochord markers such as chordin and Xnot at the early tailbud stage, but failed to express differentiation markers of notochord such as Tor70 and 5-D-4 antigens in the later stages. These results suggest that XBtg2 is required for the differentiation of notochord cells such as the process of vacuolar formation after determination of notochord cell fate.

The Early Years: Development, Learning and Teaching.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boulton-Lewis, Gillian, Ed.; Catherwood, Di, Ed.

Designed for teachers, students, caregivers, and health professionals who work with children from birth to age 8, this book provides a review of recent research and theories of development and learning in the early childhood years, with an emphasis on implications for effective teaching. Where appropriate, the book takes an Australian perspective,…

Early colonial health developments in Mauritius.

PubMed

Parahoo, K A

1986-01-01

The historical development of Mauritius and in particular the early developments in health care are crucial to an understanding of the contemporary health system. The introduction of major epidemic diseases through the movements of French soldiers to and from India and the immigration of indentured laborers from India account for the high mortality and morbidity rates in the 18th and 19th centuries and later. The colonial economy created and fortified the dependence on a single cash crop and on imported food. It also contributed toward the impoverization of large sections of the Mauritian population. The colonial era is also responsible for initiating a three tier system of health care.

QCD development in the early universe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gromov, N. A., E-mail: gromov@dm.komisc.ru

The high-energy limit of Quantum Chromodynamics is generated by the contraction of its gauge groups. Contraction parameters are taken identical with those of the Electroweak Model and tend to zero when energy increases. At the infinite energy limit all quarks lose masses and have only one color degree of freedom. The limit model represents the development of Quantum Chromodynamics in the early Universe from the Big Bang up to the end of several milliseconds.

Indicators of Early Research Productivity Among Primary Care Fellows

PubMed Central

Steiner, John F; Lanphear, Bruce P; Curtis, Peter; Vu, Kieu O

2002-01-01

OBJECTIVE Little is known about the impact of fellowship training in primary care on subsequent research productivity. Our goal was to identify characteristics of research fellows and their training associated with subsequent publications and research funding. DESIGN Mail survey in 1998. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS 1988–1997 graduates of 25 National Research Service Award primary care research fellowships in the United States. OUTCOME MEASURES 1) Publishing 1 or more papers per year since the beginning of fellowship, or 2) serving as principal investigator (PI) on a federal or non-federal grant. RESULTS One hundred forty-six of two hundred fifteen program graduates (68%) completed the survey. The median age was 38 years, and 51% were male. Thirty-two percent had published 1 or more papers per year, and 44% were PIs. Male gender (odds ratio [OR], 3.6; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.4 to 9.2), self-reported allocation of 40% or more of fellowship time to research (OR, 4.4; 95% CI, 1.8 to 11.2), and having an influential mentor during fellowship (OR, 5.0; 95% CI, 1.5 to 17.2) were independently associated with publishing 1 or more papers per year. Fellows with funding as a PI were also more likely to have an influential mentor (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.3 to 7.2). CONCLUSION Primary care fellows who had influential mentors were more productive in research early after fellowship. Awareness of the indicators of early research success can inform the policies of agencies that fund research training and the curricula of training programs themselves.

Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development

PubMed Central

Fareri, Dominic S.; Tottenham, Nim

2016-01-01

Species-expected caregiving early in life is critical for the normative development and regulation of emotional behavior, the ability to effectively evaluate affective stimuli in the environment, and the ability to sustain social relationships. Severe psychosocial stressors early in life (early life stress; ELS) in the form of the absence of species expected caregiving (i.e., caregiver deprivation), can drastically impact one’s social and emotional success, leading to the onset of internalizing illness later in life. Development of the amygdala and striatum, two key regions supporting affective valuation and learning, is significantly affected by ELS, and their altered developmental trajectories have important implications for cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional development. However, an understanding of the impact of ELS on the development of functional interactions between these regions and subsequent behavioral effects is lacking. In this review, we highlight the roles of the amygdala and striatum in affective valuation and learning in maturity and across development. We discuss their function separately as well as their interaction. We highlight evidence across species characterizing how ELS induced changes in the development of the amygdala and striatum mediate subsequent behavioral changes associated with internalizing illness, positing a particular import of the effect of ELS on their interaction. PMID:27174149

Effects of early life stress on amygdala and striatal development.

PubMed

Fareri, Dominic S; Tottenham, Nim

2016-06-01

Species-expected caregiving early in life is critical for the normative development and regulation of emotional behavior, the ability to effectively evaluate affective stimuli in the environment, and the ability to sustain social relationships. Severe psychosocial stressors early in life (early life stress; ELS) in the form of the absence of species expected caregiving (i.e., caregiver deprivation), can drastically impact one's social and emotional success, leading to the onset of internalizing illness later in life. Development of the amygdala and striatum, two key regions supporting affective valuation and learning, is significantly affected by ELS, and their altered developmental trajectories have important implications for cognitive, behavioral and socioemotional development. However, an understanding of the impact of ELS on the development of functional interactions between these regions and subsequent behavioral effects is lacking. In this review, we highlight the roles of the amygdala and striatum in affective valuation and learning in maturity and across development. We discuss their function separately as well as their interaction. We highlight evidence across species characterizing how ELS induced changes in the development of the amygdala and striatum mediate subsequent behavioral changes associated with internalizing illness, positing a particular import of the effect of ELS on their interaction. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Early Development of Four Cyprinids Native to the Yangtze River, China

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chapman, Duane C.

2006-01-01

Chapter 1 -- Notes on the Translation and Use of "A Study of the Early Development of Grass Carp, Black Carp, Silver Carp, and Bighead Carp in the Yangtze River, China" By Duane C. Chapman and Ning Wang Chapter 2 -- A Study of the Early Development of Grass Carp, Black Carp, Silver Carp, and Bighead Carp in the Yangtze River, China By Bolu Yi, Zhishen Liang, Zhitang Yu, Randuan Lin, and Mingjue HeTranslated by Duane C. Chapman and Ning Wang The document A Study of the Early Development of Grass Carp, Black Carp, Silver Carp, and Bighead Carp in the Yangtze River, China (Chapter 2 of this volume) was translated from the Chinese with the approval and assistance of the living authors of that study. It contains the most detailed description available, and approximately 200 drawings, of the early development of the subject fishes. Chapter 1 provides important instructions on the use of the translation, including a description of the Chinese morphometric conventions, which differ from those used by North American scientists. Chapter 1 also provides the historical context in which Chapter 2 was developed, and information on how the larvae of the subject fishes, which have invaded the Mississippi River basin, may be distinguished from other fishes present in the basin.

Development of Life on Early Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, Everett K.; McKay, David S.; Thomas-Keprta, Kathie L.; Clemett, Simon J.; Wentworth, Susan J.

2009-01-01

Exploration of Mars has begun to unveil the history of the planet. Combinations of remote sensing, in situ compositional measurements and photographic observations have shown Mars had a dynamic and active geologic evolution. Mars geologic evolution encompassed conditions that were suitable for supporting life. A habitable planet must have water, carbon and energy sources along with a dynamic geologic past. Mars meets all of these requirements. The first 600 My of Martian history were ripe for life to develop because of the abundance of (i) Water- as shown by carved canyons and oceans or lakes with the early presence of near surface water shown by precipitated carbonates in ALH84001, well-dated at 3.9 Gy, (ii) Energy from the original accretional processes, a molten core which generated a strong magnetic field leaving a permanent record in the early crust, active volcanism continuing throughout Martian history, and continuing impact processes, (iii) Carbon, water and a likely thicker atmosphere from extensive volcanic outgassing (i.e. H20, CO2, CH4, CO, O2, N2, H2S, SO2, etc.) and (iv) crustal tectonics as revealed by faulting and possible plate movement reflected by the magnetic pattern in the crust [1]. The question arises: "Why would life not develop from these favorable conditions on Mars in its first 600 My?" During this period, environmental near-surface conditions on Mars were more favorable to life than at any later time. Standing bodies of water, precipitation and flowing surface water, and possibly abundant hydrothermal energy would favor the formation of early life. (Even if life developed elsewhere on Earth, Venus, or on other bodies-it was transported to Mars where surface conditions were suitable for life to evolve). The commonly stated requirement that life would need hundreds of millions of year to get started is only an assumption; we know of no evidence that requires such a long interval for the development of life, if the proper habitable

Family Strategies to Support and Develop Resilience in Early Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taket, A. R.; Nolan, A.; Stagnitti, K.

2014-01-01

Early childhood is an important time for the development of resilience. A recently completed study has followed three cohorts of resilient children and young people living in disadvantaged areas in Victoria, Australia, through different transitions in their educational careers. This paper focuses on the early childhood cohort, where we have…

Early seizures predict the development of epilepsy in children and adolescents with stroke.

PubMed

Breitweg, Ina; Stülpnagel, Celina von; Pieper, Tom; Lidzba, Karen; Holthausen, Hans; Staudt, Martin; Kluger, Gerhard

2017-05-01

To identify risk factors for the development of epilepsy after pediatric stroke. Retrospective analysis of hospital charts of 93 children and adolescents with post-neonatal non-traumatic stroke and a minimum follow-up of two years. Seizures during the first 48 h after onset of stroke symptoms were defined as "early seizures"; when two or more seizures occurred after this period, the patient was classified as "epileptic". Early seizures, young age at stroke and MRI evidence of cortical involvement were observed more frequently in the children who developed epilepsy. These factors were, however, significantly interrelated; a stepwise multiple regression analysis in 46/93 patients with complete datasets identified only the occurrence of early seizures as a significant risk factor: 15/19 (79%) children with early seizures developed epilepsy, as opposed to only 7/53 (13%) without early seizures. Children with stroke who show seizures during the first 48 h after onset of stroke symptoms have a high risk to develop post-stroke epilepsy, whereas in children without early seizures, post-stroke epilepsy is rare. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Cholinergic Mechanisms, Early Brain Development, and Risk for Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Ross, Randal G; Stevens, Karen E; Proctor, William R; Leonard, Sherry; Kisley, Michael A; Hunter, Sharon K; Freedman, Robert; Adams, Catherine E

2009-01-01

Neuropsychiatric diseases are complex illnesses where the onset of diagnostic symptomology is often the end result of a decades-long process of aberrant brain development. The identification of novel treatment strategies aimed at normalizing early brain development and preventing mental illness should be a major therapeutic goal; however, there are few models for how this goal might be achieved. This report uses the attentional deficits of schizophrenia as an example and reviews data from genetic, anatomical, physiological, and pharmacologic studies to hypothesize a developmental model with translational primary prevention implications. Specifically, the model suggests that an early interaction between α7 nicotinic receptor density and choline availability may contribute to the development of schizophrenia-associated attentional deficits. Translational implications, including perinatal dietary choline supplementation, are discussed. It is hoped that presentation of this model will stimulate other efforts to develop empirically-driven primary prevention strategies. PMID:19925602

A study of 36Cl production in the early Solar System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowers, Matthew R.

Short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) with lifetimes tau < 100 Ma are known to have been extant when the Solar System formed 4.568 billion years ago from meteoritic studies of their decay products. Identifying the origins of SLRs can provide insight into the origins and timescales of our Solar System and the processes that shaped it. There are two proposed production scenarios for the origins of SLRs with tau < 5 Ma. Freshly synthesized material could be incorporated in the Solar System by a nearby stellar source (e.g., supernova, AGB star, Wolf-Rayet star), or SLRs could have also been produced by the bombardment of gas and dust by solar energetic particles (SEP) emitted by our young Sun. The origin of extinct 36Cl (t1/2 = 0.301 Ma) in the early Solar System is thought to have been produced by local particle irradiation. However the models that attempt to recreate the production of 36Cl in the early Solar System lack experimental data for the nuclear reactions considered. The first measurement of the 33S(alpha,p) 36Cl reaction, an important reaction in the production of 36Cl , was performed. The cross section measurement was performed by bombarding a target and collecting the recoiled 36Cl atoms produced in the reaction, chemically processing the samples, and measuring the 36Cl/Cl concentration of the samples with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The cross section was measured at six energies that ranged from 0.70 up to 2.42 MeV/A, within the SEP energy spectrum. The experimental results were found to be systematically higher than the predicted cross sections. However, the deviations lead to < 7 % increase in total production of 36Cl under the x-wind model. From the experimental measurement and a study of the other reactions' contributions to 36Cl production, 36Cl could have been produced close to the protoSun by reactions on Ca targets using the x-wind model, or in a late-stage irradiation event on a volatile-rich reservoir by 3He and alpha reactions on S targets.

Early stress and human behavioral development: emerging evolutionary perspectives.

PubMed

Del Giudice, M

2014-08-01

Stress experienced early in life exerts a powerful, lasting influence on development. Converging empirical findings show that stressful experiences become deeply embedded in the child's neurobiology, with an astonishing range of long-term effects on cognition, emotion, and behavior. In contrast with the prevailing view that such effects are the maladaptive outcomes of 'toxic' stress, adaptive models regard them as manifestations of evolved developmental plasticity. In this paper, I offer a brief introduction to adaptive models of early stress and human behavioral development, with emphasis on recent theoretical contributions and emerging concepts in the field. I begin by contrasting dysregulation models of early stress with their adaptive counterparts; I then introduce life history theory as a unifying framework, and review recent work on predictive adaptive responses (PARs) in human life history development. In particular, I discuss the distinction between forecasting the future state of the environment (external prediction) and forecasting the future state of the organism (internal prediction). Next, I present the adaptive calibration model, an integrative model of individual differences in stress responsivity based on life history concepts. I conclude by examining how maternal-fetal conflict may shape the physiology of prenatal stress and its adaptive and maladaptive effects on postnatal development. In total, I aim to show how theoretical work from evolutionary biology is reshaping the way we think about the role of stress in human development, and provide researchers with an up-to-date conceptual map of this fascinating and rapidly evolving field.

Suprasegmental Features Are Not Acquired Early: Perception and Production of Monosyllabic Cantonese Lexical Tones in 4- to 6-Year-Old Preschool Children.

PubMed

Wong, Puisan; Tsz-Tin Leung, Carrie

2018-05-17

Previous studies reported that children acquire Cantonese tones before 3 years of age, supporting the assumption in models of phonological development that suprasegmental features are acquired rapidly and early in children. Yet, recent research found a large disparity in the age of Cantonese tone acquisition. This study investigated Cantonese tone development in 4- to 6-year-old children. Forty-eight 4- to 6-year-old Cantonese-speaking children and 28 mothers of the children labeled 30 pictures representing familiar words in the 6 tones in a picture-naming task and identified pictures representing words in different Cantonese tones in a picture-pointing task. To control for lexical biases in tone assessment, tone productions were low-pass filtered to eliminate lexical information. Five judges categorized the tones in filtered stimuli. Tone production accuracy, tone perception accuracy, and correlation between tone production and perception accuracy were examined. Children did not start to produce adultlike tones until 5 and 6 years of age. Four-year-olds produced none of the tones with adultlike accuracy. Five- and 6-year-olds attained adultlike productions in 2 (T5 and T6) to 3 (T4, T5, and T6) tones, respectively. Children made better progress in tone perception and achieved higher accuracy in perception than in production. However, children in all age groups perceived none of the tones as accurately as adults, except that T1 was perceived with adultlike accuracy by 6-year-olds. Only weak association was found between children's tone perception and production accuracy. Contradicting to the long-held assumption that children acquire lexical tone rapidly and early before the mastery of segmentals, this study found that 4- to 6-year-old children have not mastered the perception or production of the full set of Cantonese tones in familiar monosyllabic words. Larger development was found in children's tone perception than tone production. The higher tone perception

The developing hypopharyngeal microbiota in early life.

PubMed

Mortensen, Martin Steen; Brejnrod, Asker Daniel; Roggenbuck, Michael; Abu Al-Soud, Waleed; Balle, Christina; Krogfelt, Karen Angeliki; Stokholm, Jakob; Thorsen, Jonathan; Waage, Johannes; Rasmussen, Morten Arendt; Bisgaard, Hans; Sørensen, Søren Johannes

2016-12-30

The airways of healthy humans harbor a distinct microbial community. Perturbations in the microbial community have been associated with disease, yet little is known about the formation and development of a healthy airway microbiota in early life. Our goal was to understand the establishment of the airway microbiota within the first 3 months of life. We investigated the hypopharyngeal microbiota in the unselected COPSAC 2010 cohort of 700 infants, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing of hypopharyngeal aspirates from 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months of age. Our analysis shows that majority of the hypopharyngeal microbiota of healthy infants belong to each individual's core microbiota and we demonstrate five distinct community pneumotypes. Four of these pneumotypes are dominated by the genera Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Moraxella, and Corynebacterium, respectively. Furthermore, we show temporal pneumotype changes suggesting a rapid development towards maturation of the hypopharyngeal microbiota and a significant effect from older siblings. Despite an overall common trajectory towards maturation, individual infants' microbiota are more similar to their own, than to others, over time. Our findings demonstrate a consolidation of the population of indigenous bacteria in healthy airways and indicate distinct trajectories in the early development of the hypopharyngeal microbiota.

Can very early music interventions promote at-risk infants' development?

PubMed

Virtala, Paula; Partanen, Eino

2018-04-30

Music and musical activities are often a natural part of parenting. As accumulating evidence shows, music can promote auditory and language development in infancy and early childhood. It may even help to support auditory and language skills in infants whose development is compromised by heritable conditions, like the reading deficit dyslexia, or by environmental factors, such as premature birth. For example, infants born to dyslexic parents can have atypical brain responses to speech sounds and subsequent challenges in language development. Children born very preterm, in turn, have an increased likelihood of sensory, cognitive, and motor deficits. To ameliorate these deficits, we have developed early interventions focusing on music. Preliminary results of our ongoing longitudinal studies suggest that music making and parental singing promote infants' early language development and auditory neural processing. Together with previous findings in the field, the present studies highlight the role of active, social music making in supporting auditory and language development in at-risk children and infants. Once completed, the studies will illuminate both risk and protective factors in development and offer a comprehensive model of understanding the promises of music activities in promoting positive developmental outcomes during the first years of life. © 2018 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of The New York Academy of Sciences.

Early development in the velvet worm Euperipatoides kanangrensis Reid 1996 (Onychophora: Peripatopsidae)

PubMed Central

Eriksson, Bo Joakim; Tait, Noel N.

2012-01-01

We present here a description of early development in the onychophoran Euperipatoides kanangrensis with emphasis on processes that are ambiguously described in older literature. Special focus has been on the pattern of early cleavage, blastoderm and germinal disc development and gastrulation. The formation of the blastopore, stomodeum and proctodeum is described from sectioned material using light and transmission electron microscopy as well as whole-mount material stained for nuclei and gene expression. The early cleavages were found to be superficial, contrary to earlier descriptions of cleavage in yolky, ovoviviparous onychophorans. Also, contrary to earlier descriptions, the embryonic anterior-posterior axis is not predetermined in the egg. Our data support the view of a blastopore that becomes elongated and slit-like, resembling some of the earliest descriptions. From gene expression data, we concluded that the position of the proctodeum is the most posterior pit in the developing embryo. This description of early development adds to our knowledge of the staging of embryonic development in onychophorans necessary for studies on the role of developmental changes in evolution. PMID:22430148

Imidacloprid Exposure Suppresses Neural Crest Cells Generation during Early Chick Embryo Development.

PubMed

Wang, Chao-Jie; Wang, Guang; Wang, Xiao-Yu; Liu, Meng; Chuai, Manli; Lee, Kenneth Ka Ho; He, Xiao-Song; Lu, Da-Xiang; Yang, Xuesong

2016-06-15

Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid pesticide that is widely used in the control pests found on crops and fleas on pets. However, it is still unclear whether imidacloprid exposure could affect early embryo development-despite some studies having been conducted on the gametes. In this study, we demonstrated that imidacloprid exposure could lead to abnormal craniofacial osteogenesis in the developing chick embryo. Cranial neural crest cells (NCCs) are the progenitor cells of the chick cranial skull. We found that the imidacloprid exposure retards the development of gastrulating chick embryos. HNK-1, PAX7, and Ap-2α immunohistological stainings indicated that cranial NCCs generation was inhibited after imidacloprid exposure. Double immunofluorescent staining (Ap-2α and PHIS3 or PAX7 and c-Caspase3) revealed that imidacloprid exposure inhibited both NCC proliferation and apoptosis. In addition, it inhibited NCCs production by repressing Msx1 and BMP4 expression in the developing neural tube and by altering expression of EMT-related adhesion molecules (Cad6B, E-Cadherin, and N-cadherin) in the developing neural crests. We also determined that imidacloprid exposure suppressed cranial NCCs migration and their ability to differentiate. In sum, we have provided experimental evidence that imidacloprid exposure during embryogenesis disrupts NCCs development, which in turn causes defective cranial bone development.

How the Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Influence the Development of Brain Architecture

PubMed Central

Fox, Sharon E.; Levitt, Pat; Nelson, Charles A.

2009-01-01

Early life events can exert a powerful influence on both the pattern of brain architecture and behavioral development. In this paper a conceptual framework is provided for considering how the structure of early experience gets “under the skin.” The paper begins with a description of the genetic framework that lays the foundation for brain development, and then to the ways experience interacts with and modifies the structures and functions of the developing brain. Much of the attention is focused on early experience and sensitive periods, although it is made clear that later experience also plays an important role in maintaining and elaborating this early wiring diagram, which is critical to establishing a solid footing for development beyond the early years. PMID:20331653

Chemical methods and techniques to monitor early Maillard reaction in milk products; A review.

PubMed

Aalaei, Kataneh; Rayner, Marilyn; Sjöholm, Ingegerd

2018-01-23

Maillard reaction is an extensively studied, yet unresolved chemical reaction that occurs as a result of application of the heat and during the storage of foods. The formation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) has been the focus of several investigations recently. These molecules which are formed at the advanced stage of the Maillard reaction, are suspected to be involved in autoimmune diseases in humans. Therefore, understanding to which extent this reaction occurs in foods, is of vital significance. Because of their composition, milk products are ideal media for this reaction, especially when application of heat and prolonged storage are considered. Thus, in this work several chemical approaches to monitor this reaction in an early stage are reviewed. This is mostly done regarding available lysine blockage which takes place in the very beginning of the reaction. The most popular methods and their applications to various products are reviewed. The methods including their modifications are described in detail and their findings are discussed. The present paper provides an insight into the history of the most frequently-used methods and provides an overview on the indicators of the Maillard reaction in the early stage with its focus on milk products and especially milk powders.

Improving Latino Children's Early Language and Literacy Development: Key Features of Early Childhood Education within Family Literacy Programmes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jung, Youngok; Zuniga, Stephen; Howes, Carollee; Jeon, Hyun-Joo; Parrish, Deborah; Quick, Heather; Manship, Karen; Hauser, Alison

2016-01-01

Noting the lack of research on how early childhood education (ECE) programmes within family literacy programmes influence Latino children's early language and literacy development, this study examined key features of ECE programmes, specifically teacher-child interactions and child engagement in language and literacy activities and how these…

Squeezed states and graviton-entropy production in the early universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giovannini, Massimo

1994-01-01

Squeezed states are a very useful framework for the quantum treatment of tensor perturbations (i.e. gravitons production) in the early universe. In particular, the non equilibrium entropy growth in a cosmological process of pair production is completely determined by the associated squeezing parameter and is insensitive to the number of particles in the initial state. The total produced entropy may represent a significant fraction of the entropy stored today in the cosmic blackbody radiation, provided pair production originates from a change in the background metric at a curvature scale of the Planck order. Within the formalism of squeezed thermal states it is also possible to discuss the stimulated emission of gravitons from an initial thermal bath, under the action of the cosmic gravitational background field. We find that at low energy the graviton production is enhanced, if compared with spontaneous creation from the vacuum; as a consequence, the inflation scale must be lowered, in order not to exceed the observed CMB quadrupole anisotropy. This effect is important, in particular, for models based on a symmetry-breaking transition which require, as initial condition, a state of thermal equilibrium at temperatures higher than the inflation scale and in which inflation has a minimal duration.

Early identification systems for emerging foodborne hazards.

PubMed

Marvin, H J P; Kleter, G A; Prandini, A; Dekkers, S; Bolton, D J

2009-05-01

This paper provides a non-exhausting overview of early warning systems for emerging foodborne hazards that are operating in the various places in the world. Special attention is given to endpoint-focussed early warning systems (i.e. ECDC, ISIS and GPHIN) and hazard-focussed early warning systems (i.e. FVO, RASFF and OIE) and their merit to successfully identify a food safety problem in an early stage is discussed. Besides these early warning systems which are based on monitoring of either disease symptoms or hazards, also early warning systems and/or activities that intend to predict the occurrence of a food safety hazard in its very beginning of development or before that are described. Examples are trend analysis, horizon scanning, early warning systems for mycotoxins in maize and/or wheat and information exchange networks (e.g. OIE and GIEWS). Furthermore, recent initiatives that aim to develop predictive early warning systems based on the holistic principle are discussed. The assumption of the researchers applying this principle is that developments outside the food production chain that are either directly or indirectly related to the development of a particular food safety hazard may also provide valuable information to predict the development of this hazard.

Three-dimensional analysis of the early development of the dentition

PubMed Central

Peterkova, R; Hovorakova, M; Peterka, M; Lesot, H

2014-01-01

Tooth development has attracted the attention of researchers since the 19th century. It became obvious even then that morphogenesis could not fully be appreciated from two-dimensional histological sections. Therefore, methods of three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions were employed to visualize the surface morphology of developing structures and to help appreciate the complexity of early tooth morphogenesis. The present review surveys the data provided by computer-aided 3D analyses to update classical knowledge of early odontogenesis in the laboratory mouse and in humans. 3D reconstructions have demonstrated that odontogenesis in the early stages is a complex process which also includes the development of rudimentary odontogenic structures with different fates. Their developmental, evolutionary, and pathological aspects are discussed. The combination of in situ hybridization and 3D reconstruction have demonstrated the temporo-spatial dynamics of the signalling centres that reflect transient existence of rudimentary tooth primordia at loci where teeth were present in ancestors. The rudiments can rescue their suppressed development and revitalize, and then their subsequent autonomous development can give rise to oral pathologies. This shows that tooth-forming potential in mammals can be greater than that observed from their functional dentitions. From this perspective, the mouse rudimentary tooth primordia represent a natural model to test possibilities of tooth regeneration. PMID:24495023

Contribution of Near Real Time MODIS-Based Forest Disturbance Detection Products to a National Forest Threat Early Warning System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spruce, Joseph; Hargrove, William; Gasser, Gerald; Smoot, James; Kuper, Philip

2011-01-01

U.S. forests occupy approx. 751 million acres (approx. 1/3 of total land). These forests are exposed to multiple biotic and abiotic threats that collectively damage extensive acreages each year. Hazardous forest disturbances can threaten human life and property, bio-diversity and water supplies. Timely regional forest monitoring products are needed to aid forest management and decision making by the US Forest Service and its state and private partners. Daily MODIS data products provide a means to monitor regional forest disturbances on a weekly basis. In response, we began work in 2006 to develop a Near Real Time (NRT) forest monitoring capability, based on MODIS NDVI data, as part of a national forest threat early warning system (EWS)

The Australian Early Development Index: Reshaping Family-Child Relationships in Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peers, Chris

2011-01-01

This article addresses the cultural significance of the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) and discusses changes that the discourse of this instrument makes to the way in which the child is conceptualised. It analyses the technological function of the AEDI to examine how it makes the child a universal resource for human capital. The article…

Documenting with Early Childhood Education Teachers: Pedagogical Documentation as a Tool for Developing Early Childhood Pedagogy and Practises

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rintakorpi, Kati

2016-01-01

The Finnish social pedagogical curriculum for early childhood education directs early childhood teachers to use documentation to assess and develop pedagogy and practise. This empirical study examines the challenges and benefits a group of Finnish preschool teachers experienced when they learned to document their work. Although the idea of…

Rat pup social motivation: A critical component of early psychological development

PubMed Central

Cromwell, Howard Casey

2011-01-01

Examining the role of the offspring in early social dynamics is especially difficult. Human developmental psychology has found infant behavior to be a vital part of the early environmental setting. In the rodent model, the different ways that a rodent neonate or pup can influence social dynamics are not well known. Typically, litters of neonates or pups offer complex social interactions dominated by behavior seemingly initiated and maintained by the primary caregiver (e.g., the dam). Despite this strong role for the caregiver, the young most likely influence the litter dynamics in many powerful ways including communication signals, discrimination abilities and early approach behavior. Nelson and Panksepp (1996) developed a preference task to examine early rodent pup social motivation. We have used the same task to examine how variations in maternal care or different environmental perturbations could alter the rat pup preferences for social-related stimuli. Rat pups receiving low levels of maternal licking and grooming were impaired in maternal odor cue learning and emitted lower levels of 22 kHz ultrasounds compared to pups from the high licking and grooming cohort. Prenatal stress or early exposure to a toxicant (polychlorinated biphenyl) altered early social preferences in the rat pup in different ways indicating that diverse strategies are expressed and specific to the type of perturbation exposure. A greater focus on the offspring motivation following early ‘stressors’ will allow for more complete understanding of the dynamics in behavior during early social development. PMID:21251926

Early Markers of Vulnerable Language Skill Development in Galactosaemia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Fiona M.; Coman, David J.; Syrmis, Maryanne

2014-01-01

There are no known biomedical or genetic markers to identify which infants with galactosaemia (GAL) are most at risk of poor language skill development, yet pre-linguistic communicative "red flag" behaviours are recognised as early identifiers of heightened vulnerability to impaired language development. We report on pre-linguistic…

Career Planning and Development for Early-Career Scientists

EPA Science Inventory

Early career development can be looked at as being of two major phases. The first phase is the formal educational process leading to an awarded degree, postdoctoral training, and potentially formal certification in a scientific discipline. The second phase is the informal educa...

S-(–)equol production is developmentally regulated and related to early diet composition

PubMed Central

Brown, Nadine M.; Galandi, Stephanie L.; Summer, Suzanne S.; Zhao, Xueheng; Heubi, James E.; King, Eileen C.; Setchell, Kenneth D.R.

2016-01-01

S-(−)7-hydroxy-3-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-chroman, or S-(−)equol, a biologically active intestinally derived bacterial metabolite of the soy isoflavones daidzin/daidzein, is not produced in neonatal life. Because its synthesis is dependent on equol-producing bacteria, we hypothesized that early nutrition may influence equol production. This prospective 2.5-year study determined the frequency of S-(−)equol production in healthy infants (n = 90) fed breast milk, soy infant formula, or cow’s milk formula in their first year. Urinary S-(−)equol and daidzein were quantified by mass spectrometry after a standardized 3.5-day soy isoflavone challenge. Infants were tested at 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months of age, and 3-day diet records were obtained at each visit to explore the effect of early and postweaning (>12 months) macronutrient and micronutrient dietary composition and S-(−)equol production. Use of antibiotics was also recorded. At age 6 months, none of the breast-fed infants produced S-(−)equol, whereas 3.8% and 6.0%, respectively, of soy and cow’s milk formula–fed infants were equol producers. By age 3 years, 50% of the formula-fed infants were equol producers, compared with 25% of breast-fed infants. Use of antibiotics was prevalent among infants and may have impacted the stability of S-(−)equol production. No significant differences among the groups were observed in postweaning dietary intakes of total energy, carbohydrate, fiber, protein, fat, saturated fatty acids, or polyunsaturated fatty acids and the propensity to make S-(−)equol. In conclusion, S-(−)equol production is developmentally regulated and initially related to diet composition with the proportion of equol producers increasing over the first 3 years of life, with a trend for formula feeding favoring S-(−)equol production. PMID:24916553

Effects of child development accounts on early social-emotional development: an experimental test.

PubMed

Huang, Jin; Sherraden, Michael; Kim, Youngmi; Clancy, Margaret

2014-03-01

This study, based on Oklahoma's statewide Child Development Accounts (CDAs) program, presents findings from the first experimental test of the hypothesis that creating lifelong savings accounts for children at birth promotes their long-term well-being. To examine the effects of CDAs, an innovative social policy to encourage lifelong saving and asset building for long-term development, on parent-reported social-emotional development in early childhood. A statewide randomized experiment of CDAs was conducted in 2008, drawing a probability sample of 7328 children from all infants born in two 3-month periods in Oklahoma (April 1 through June 30 and August 1 through October 31, 2007). After agreeing to participate in the experiment, caregivers of 2704 infants completed a baseline survey and were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 1358) and control groups (n = 1346). Approximately 84% of participants completed a follow-up survey in the spring of 2011. The intervention offered CDAs, built on the existing Oklahoma 529 college-savings plan, to treatment participants. It also provided additional financial incentives and information. The primary outcome-child social-emotional development-is measured by scores from a 17-item version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional. Caregivers completed it in the 3-year follow-up survey. Lower scores indicate better functioning. The CDAs have positive effects on social-emotional development for children at approximately age 4 years. The nonweighted treatment-control difference is -1.56 (90% CI, -2.87 to -0.22; P = .06), but the weighted difference is nonsignificant. The effects appear to be greater for disadvantaged subsamples, such as low-income households (weighted mean difference, -2.21; 90% CI, -4.01 to -0.42; P = .04). As a complement to other early education and health interventions, CDAs may improve social-emotional development in early childhood. Their effects may be explained as a mediating

A Survey of English Sixth Formers' Knowledge of Early Brain Development.

PubMed

Nolan, Mary

2017-10-01

Objectives To ascertain the knowledge of young people aged 16 to 19 of early brain development and their attitudes towards the care of babies and preschool children. Design Cross-sectional, school- and college-based survey including all sixth form students present on the days of data collection. The survey instrument comprised forced-choice questions in four sections: Demographics, Perceptions and Understanding of Early Childhood Development, Parental Behaviors to Support Early Brain development, and Resource Needs and Usage. Setting Two sixth form schools and one sixth form college in three towns of varying affluence in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. Method The survey was mounted online and completed by 905 students who returned it directly to the researcher. Results Most students knew that tobacco, alcohol, and drugs are hazardous in pregnancy, and many recognized the impact of maternal stress on fetal brain development. Many believed that babies can be "spoiled" and did not appreciate the importance of reading to babies and of the relationship between play and early brain development. A significant minority thought that physical activity and a healthy diet have little impact on young children's development. Respondents said they would turn firstly to their parents for advice on baby care rather than professionals. Conclusion Young people need educating about parenting activities that support the all-round healthy development of infants. The importance of a healthy diet, physical activity, reading, and play should be included in sixth form curricula and antenatal classes. Consideration should be given to educating grandparents because of their influence on new parents.

Success rates for product development strategies in new drug development.

PubMed

Dahlin, E; Nelson, G M; Haynes, M; Sargeant, F

2016-04-01

While research has examined the likelihood that drugs progress across phases of clinical trials, no research to date has examined the types of product development strategies that are the most likely to be successful in clinical trials. This research seeks to identify the strategies that are most likely to reach the market-those generated using a novel product development strategy or strategies that combine a company's expertise with both drugs and indications, which we call combined experience strategies. We evaluate the success of product development strategies in the drug development process for a sample of 2562 clinical trials completed by 406 US pharmaceutical companies. To identify product development strategies, we coded each clinical trial according to whether it consisted of an indication or a drug that was new to the firm. Accordingly, a clinical trial that consists of both an indication and a drug that were both new to the firm represents a novel product development strategy; indication experience is a product development strategy that consists of an indication that a firm had tested previously in a clinical trial, but with a drug that was new to the firm; drug experience is a product development strategy that consists of a drug that the firm had prior experience testing in clinical trials, but with an indication that was new to the firm; combined experience consists of both a drug and an indication that the firm had experience testing in clinical trials. Success rates for product development strategies across clinical phases were calculated for the clinical trials in our sample. Combined experience strategies had the highest success rate. More than three and a half percent (0·036) of the trials that combined experience with drugs and indications eventually reached the market. The next most successful strategy is drug experience (0·025) with novel strategies trailing closely (0·024). Indication experience strategies are the least successful (0·008

The Role of Geminates in Infants' Early Word Production and Word-Form Recognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vihman, Marilyn; Majoran, Marinella

2017-01-01

Infants learning languages with long consonants, or geminates, have been found to "overselect" and "overproduce" these consonants in early words and also to commonly omit the word-initial consonant. A production study with thirty Italian children recorded at 1;3 and 1;9 strongly confirmed both of these tendencies. To test the…

Changes in Speech Production in an Early Deafened Adult with a Cochlear Implant

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wong, Patrick C. M.

2007-01-01

Background and Aims: The current study is a first investigation reporting the speech production characteristics of an early deafened adult cochlear implant user after a course of speech-language treatment. Methods and Procedures: The participant is culturally deaf and received the cochlear implant when she was 43 years old. A 24-week ABCABC…

Regional asynchronicity in dairy production and processing in early farming communities of the northern Mediterranean

PubMed Central

Debono Spiteri, Cynthianne; Gillis, Rosalind E.; Roffet-Salque, Mélanie; Castells Navarro, Laura; Guilaine, Jean; Manen, Claire; Muntoni, Italo M.; Whelton, Helen L.; Craig, Oliver E.; Vigne, Jean-Denis; Evershed, Richard P.

2016-01-01

In the absence of any direct evidence, the relative importance of meat and dairy productions to Neolithic prehistoric Mediterranean communities has been extensively debated. Here, we combine lipid residue analysis of ceramic vessels with osteo-archaeological age-at-death analysis from 82 northern Mediterranean and Near Eastern sites dating from the seventh to fifth millennia BC to address this question. The findings show variable intensities in dairy and nondairy activities in the Mediterranean region with the slaughter profiles of domesticated ruminants mirroring the results of the organic residue analyses. The finding of milk residues in very early Neolithic pottery (seventh millennium BC) from both the east and west of the region contrasts with much lower intensities in sites of northern Greece, where pig bones are present in higher frequencies compared with other locations. In this region, the slaughter profiles of all domesticated ruminants suggest meat production predominated. Overall, it appears that milk or the by-products of milk was an important foodstuff, which may have contributed significantly to the spread of these cultural groups by providing a nourishing and sustainable product for early farming communities. PMID:27849595

Helping Families Connect Early Literacy with Social-Emotional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Rosa Milagros; Fettig, Angel; Shaffer, LaShorage

2012-01-01

Early childhood educators know that home is a child's first learning environment. From birth, children are comforted by hearing and listening to their caregivers' voices. The language used by families supports young children's development of oral language skills. Exposure to print materials in the home also supports literacy development. Literacy…

Early Learning and Development: Cultural-Historical Concepts in Play

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleer, Marilyn

2010-01-01

"Early Learning and Development" provides a unique synthesis of cultural-historical theory from Vygotsky, Elkonin and Leontiev in the 20th century to the ground-breaking research of scholars such as Siraj-Blatchford, Kratsova and Hedegaard today. It demonstrates how development and learning are culturally embedded and institutionally defined, and…

The maturation of cortical sleep rhythms and networks over early development

PubMed Central

Chu, CJ; Leahy, J; Pathmanathan, J; Kramer, MA; Cash, SS

2014-01-01

Objective Although neuronal activity drives all aspects of cortical development, how human brain rhythms spontaneously mature remains an active area of research. We sought to systematically evaluate the emergence of human brain rhythms and functional cortical networks over early development. Methods We examined cortical rhythms and coupling patterns from birth through adolescence in a large cohort of healthy children (n=384) using scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) in the sleep state. Results We found that the emergence of brain rhythms follows a stereotyped sequence over early development. In general, higher frequencies increase in prominence with striking regional specificity throughout development. The coordination of these rhythmic activities across brain regions follows a general pattern of maturation in which broadly distributed networks of low-frequency oscillations increase in density while networks of high frequency oscillations become sparser and more highly clustered. Conclusion Our results indicate that a predictable program directs the development of key rhythmic components and physiological brain networks over early development. Significance This work expands our knowledge of normal cortical development. The stereotyped neurophysiological processes observed at the level of rhythms and networks may provide a scaffolding to support critical periods of cognitive growth. Furthermore, these conserved patterns could provide a sensitive biomarker for cortical health across development. PMID:24418219

Developing and Validating a Survey of Korean Early Childhood English Teachers' Knowledge

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Jung In

2015-01-01

The main purpose of this study is to develop and validate a valid measure of the early childhood (EC) English teacher knowledge. Through extensive literature review on second/foreign language (L2/FL) teacher knowledge, early childhood teacher knowledge and early childhood language teacher knowledge, and semi-structured interviews from current…

Early Childhood Development Unit (Nga Kaitaunaki Kohungahunga) Right from the Start: Early Childhood Development 1 July 2001 to 30 June 2002, Annual Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Early Childhood Development Unit, Wellington (New Zealand).

This annual report outlines the mission, values, and goals of New Zealand's Early Childhood Development board (ECD), established in 1989 to promote the development and provision of high quality, accessible, and culturally appropriate educational and developmental facilities/services for families and young children. The report contains a directory…

[Dental caries and early childhood development: a pilot study].

PubMed

Núñez, F Loreto; Sanz, B Javier; Mejía, L Gloria

2015-01-01

To investigate the association between dental caries and early childhood development in 3-year-olds from Talca, Chile. A pilot study with a convenience sample of 3-year-olds from Talca (n = 39) who attend public healthcare centers. Child development was measured by the Psychomotor Development Index (PDI), a screening tool used nationally among pre-school children to assess language development, fine motor skills and coordination areas. Dental caries prevalence was evaluated by decayed, missing, filled teeth (DFMT) and decayed, missing, filled tooth surfaces (DFMS) ceo-d and ceo-s indexes. The children were divided into two groups according to the PDIscore: those with a score of 40 or more were considered developmentally normal (n = 32), and those with a score below 40 were considered as having impaired development (n = 7). The severity of caries (DMFT) was negatively correlated with PDI (r = -0.82), and children with the lowest TEPSI score had the highest DFMT values. The average DMFT in children with normal development was 1.31, and 3.57 for those with impaired development. This pilot study indicates that the severity of dental caries is correlated with early childhood development. Copyright © 2015. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.

New product development: A batik multifunctional chair

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indrawati, Sri; Sukmaningsih, Nias

2017-11-01

The biggest challenge facing by Batik industry in ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) era is the greater number of fashion competitors both domestically and internationally. Based on that condition, the development of new product variants by considering product performance and price is needed. This research was conducted to develop batik products with a new target market. Products that being developed is batik multifunctional chair using integrated value engineering and analytic hierarchy process methods. This research has been done in several stages, ie. Information stage, creative stage, value analysis and product prototyping. The results of this research shows that the batik multifunctional chair product criteria are aesthetic (29%), multifunctional (34%) and ergonomic (37%). There are three new product design alternatives that successfully being developed. Based on value analysis, the product design alternatives that have the highest value is alternative design 2, the value is 2,37. The production cost for this design is Rp. 500.000,-. Alternative design 2 specification are using Mahoni wood, Batik parang rusak pattern with natural coloring process, can be used as table and fit with customer's body anthropometry. Then a batik multifunctional chair prototype is developed based on the best alternative design.

Studies Toward Birth and Early Mammalian Development in Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ronca, April E.; Dalton, Bonnie (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Successful reproduction is the hallmark of a species' ability to adapt to its environment and must be realized to sustain life beyond Earth. Before taking this immense step, we need to understand the effects of altered gravity on critical phases of mammalian reproduction, viz., those events surrounding pregnancy, birth and the early development of offspring. No mammal has yet undergone birth in space. however studies spanning the gravity continuum from 0 to 2-g are revealing insights into how birth and early postnatal development will proceed in space. In this presentation, I will report the results of behavioral studies of rat mothers and offspring exposed from mid- to late pregnancy to either hypogravity (0-g) or hypergravity (1.5 or 2-g).

Early Life Growth Predicts Pubertal Development in South African Adolescents.

PubMed

Lundeen, Elizabeth A; Norris, Shane A; Martorell, Reynaldo; Suchdev, Parminder S; Mehta, Neil K; Richter, Linda M; Stein, Aryeh D

2016-03-01

Given global trends toward earlier onset of puberty and the adverse psychosocial consequences of early puberty, it is important to understand the childhood predictors of pubertal timing and tempo. We examined the association between early growth and the timing and tempo of puberty in adolescents in South Africa. We analyzed prospectively collected data from 1060 boys and 1135 girls participating in the Birth-to-Twenty cohort in Soweto, South Africa. Height-for-age z scores (HAZs) and body mass index-for-age z scores (BMIZs) were calculated based on height (centimeters) and body mass index (kilograms per meter squared) at ages 5 y and 8 y. The development of genitals, breasts, and pubic hair was recorded annually from 9 to 16 y of age with the use of the Tanner sexual maturation scale (SMS). We used latent class growth analysis to identify pubertal trajectory classes and also characterized children as fast or slow developers based on the SMS score at 12 y of age. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate associations of HAZ and BMIZ at ages 5 and 8 y with pubertal development. We identified 3 classes for pubic hair development (for both girls and boys) and 4 classes for breast (for girls) and genital (for boys) development. In girls, both HAZ and BMIZ at age 5 y were positively associated with pubic hair development [relative risk ratio (RRR): 1.57, P < 0.001 and RRR: 1.51, P < 0.01, respectively], as was BMI at age 8 y (RRR: 2.06, P = 0.03); similar findings were observed for breast development. In boys, HAZ and BMIZ at age 5 y were positively associated with pubic hair development (RRR: 1.78, P < 0.001 and RRR: 1.43, P < 0.01, respectively); HAZ at age 5 y was associated with development of genitals (RRR: 2.19, P < 0.01). In boys and girls, both height and body mass index in early childhood predicted the trajectory of pubertal development. This may provide a tool to identify children at risk of early pubertal onset.

Fibroblast growth factor signaling is required for early somatic gonad development in zebrafish.

PubMed

Leerberg, Dena M; Sano, Kaori; Draper, Bruce W

2017-09-01

The vertebrate ovary and testis develop from a sexually indifferent gonad. During early development of the organism, primordial germ cells (the gamete lineage) and somatic gonad cells coalesce and begin to undergo growth and morphogenesis to form this bipotential gonad. Although this aspect of development is requisite for a fertile adult, little is known about the genetic regulation of early gonadogenesis in any vertebrate. Here, we provide evidence that fibroblast growth factor (Fgf) signaling is required for the early growth phase of a vertebrate bipotential gonad. Based on mutational analysis in zebrafish, we show that the Fgf ligand 24 (Fgf24) is required for proliferation, differentiation, and morphogenesis of the early somatic gonad, and as a result, most fgf24 mutants are sterile as adults. Additionally, we describe the ultrastructural elements of the early zebrafish gonad and show that distinct somatic cell populations can be identified soon after the gonad forms. Specifically, we show that fgf24 is expressed in an epithelial population of early somatic gonad cells that surrounds an inner population of mesenchymal somatic gonad cells that are in direct contact with the germ cells, and that fgf24 is required for stratification of the somatic tissue. Furthermore, based on gene expression analysis, we find that differentiation of the inner mesenchymal somatic gonad cells into functional cell types in the larval and early juvenile-stage gonad is dependent on Fgf24 signaling. Finally, we argue that the role of Fgf24 in zebrafish is functionally analogous to the role of tetrapod FGF9 in early gonad development.

Development of a Metabolic Biosignature for Detection of Early Lyme Disease

PubMed Central

Molins, Claudia R.; Ashton, Laura V.; Wormser, Gary P.; Hess, Ann M.; Delorey, Mark J.; Mahapatra, Sebabrata; Schriefer, Martin E.; Belisle, John T.

2015-01-01

Background. Early Lyme disease patients often present to the clinic prior to developing a detectable antibody response to Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent. Thus, existing 2-tier serology-based assays yield low sensitivities (29%–40%) for early infection. The lack of an accurate laboratory test for early Lyme disease contributes to misconceptions about diagnosis and treatment, and underscores the need for new diagnostic approaches. Methods. Retrospective serum samples from patients with early Lyme disease, other diseases, and healthy controls were analyzed for small molecule metabolites by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). A metabolomics data workflow was applied to select a biosignature for classifying early Lyme disease and non-Lyme disease patients. A statistical model of the biosignature was trained using the patients' LC-MS data, and subsequently applied as an experimental diagnostic tool with LC-MS data from additional patient sera. The accuracy of this method was compared with standard 2-tier serology. Results. Metabolic biosignature development selected 95 molecular features that distinguished early Lyme disease patients from healthy controls. Statistical modeling reduced the biosignature to 44 molecular features, and correctly classified early Lyme disease patients and healthy controls with a sensitivity of 88% (84%–95%), and a specificity of 95% (90%–100%). Importantly, the metabolic biosignature correctly classified 77%–95% of the of serology negative Lyme disease patients. Conclusions. The data provide proof-of-concept that metabolic profiling for early Lyme disease can achieve significantly greater (P < .0001) diagnostic sensitivity than current 2-tier serology, while retaining high specificity. PMID:25761869

Characteristics of effective professional development for early career science teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, Shirley; Campbell, Sandra; Johnson, Sally; Stylianidou, Fani

2011-04-01

The research reported here set out to investigate the features in schools and science departments that were seen as effective in contributing to the continuing professional development (CPD) of early career science teachers. Ten schools took part in the study, selected on the basis of their reputation for having effective CPD practices. To gain different perspectives from within the organisations we conducted interviews with senior members of staff, heads of science departments and early career teachers. A thematic analysis of the interviews is presented, drawing on findings from across the 10 schools, and exemplified in more detail by a vignette to show specific features of effective CPD practice. The study has revealed a wealth of practice across the 10 schools, which included a focus on broadening experience beyond the classroom, having an open, sharing, non-threatening culture and systemic procedures for mentoring and support that involved ring-fenced budgets. The schools also deployed staff judiciously in critical roles that model practice and motivate early career science teachers. Early career teachers were concerned primarily with their overall development as teachers, though some science specific examples such as observing practical work and sessions to address subject knowledge were seen as important.

Integrated and Early Childhood Education: Preparation for Social Development. Theme A: Relevant Provision for Early Childhood.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Axton, J. H. M.

Factors which influence child development are listed and briefly discussed. These factors are (1) mother's childhood, (2) mother's age, (3) care during pregnancy and delivery, (4) early neonatal factors, (5) birth interval, (6) effect of repeated infection and malnutrition on brain growth and intellectual development, and (7) home environment. The…

Downregulation of ribosome biogenesis during early forebrain development

PubMed Central

Chau, Kevin F; Shannon, Morgan L; Fame, Ryann M; Fonseca, Erin; Mullan, Hillary; Johnson, Matthew B; Sendamarai, Anoop K; Springel, Mark W; Laurent, Benoit

2018-01-01

Forebrain precursor cells are dynamic during early brain development, yet the underlying molecular changes remain elusive. We observed major differences in transcriptional signatures of precursor cells from mouse forebrain at embryonic days E8.5 vs. E10.5 (before vs. after neural tube closure). Genes encoding protein biosynthetic machinery were strongly downregulated at E10.5. This was matched by decreases in ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis, together with age-related changes in proteomic content of the adjacent fluids. Notably, c-MYC expression and mTOR pathway signaling were also decreased at E10.5, providing potential drivers for the effects on ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis. Interference with c-MYC at E8.5 prematurely decreased ribosome biogenesis, while persistent c-MYC expression in cortical progenitors increased transcription of protein biosynthetic machinery and enhanced ribosome biogenesis, as well as enhanced progenitor proliferation leading to subsequent macrocephaly. These findings indicate large, coordinated changes in molecular machinery of forebrain precursors during early brain development. PMID:29745900

Gross Motor Development, Movement Abnormalities, and Early Identification of Autism

PubMed Central

Young, Gregory S.; Goldring, Stacy; Greiss-Hess, Laura; Herrera, Adriana M.; Steele, Joel; Macari, Suzanne; Hepburn, Susan; Rogers, Sally J.

2015-01-01

Gross motor development (supine, prone, rolling, sitting, crawling, walking) and movement abnormalities were examined in the home videos of infants later diagnosed with autism (regression and no regression subgroups), developmental delays (DD), or typical development. Group differences in maturity were found for walking, prone, and supine, with the DD and Autism-No Regression groups both showing later developing motor maturity than typical children. The only statistically significant differences in movement abnormalities were in the DD group; the two autism groups did not differ from the typical group in rates of movement abnormalities or lack of protective responses. These findings do not replicate previous investigations suggesting that early motor abnormalities seen on home video can assist in early identification of autism. PMID:17805956

21 CFR 601.21 - Products under development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 7 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Products under development. 601.21 Section 601.21...) BIOLOGICS LICENSING Biologics Licensing § 601.21 Products under development. A biological product undergoing development, but not yet ready for a biologics license, may be shipped or otherwise delivered from one State...

21 CFR 601.21 - Products under development.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 7 2011-04-01 2010-04-01 true Products under development. 601.21 Section 601.21...) BIOLOGICS LICENSING Biologics Licensing § 601.21 Products under development. A biological product undergoing development, but not yet ready for a biologics license, may be shipped or otherwise delivered from one State...

Early Career Boot Camp: a novel mechanism for enhancing early career development for psychologists in academic healthcare.

PubMed

Foran-Tuller, Kelly; Robiner, William N; Breland-Noble, Alfiee; Otey-Scott, Stacie; Wryobeck, John; King, Cheryl; Sanders, Kathryn

2012-03-01

The purpose of this article is to describe a pilot mentoring program for Early Career Psychologists (ECPs) working in Academic Health Centers (AHCs) and synthesize the lessons learned to contribute to future ECP and AHC career development training programs. The authors describe an early career development model, named the Early Career Boot Camp. This intensive experience was conducted as a workshop meant to build a supportive network and to provide mentorship and survival tools for working in AHCs. Four major components were addressed: professional effectiveness, clinical supervision, strategic career planning, and academic research. Nineteen attendees who were currently less than 5 years post completion of doctoral graduate programs in psychology participated in the program. The majority of boot camp components were rated as good to excellent, with no component receiving below average ratings. Of the components offered within the boot camp, mentoring and research activities were rated the strongest, followed by educational activities, challenges in AHCS, and promotion and tenure. The article describes the purpose, development, implementation, and assessment of the program in detail in an effort to provide an established outline for future organizations to utilize when mentoring ECPs.

Early Intravascular Events are Associated with Development of ARDS.

PubMed

Abdulnour, Raja-Elie E; Gunderson, Tina; Barkas, Ioanna; Timmons, Jack Y; Barnig, Cindy; Gong, Michelle; Kor, Daryl J; Gajic, Ognjen; Talmor, Daniel; Carter, Rickey E; Levy, Bruce D

2018-05-21

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a devastating illness with limited therapeutic options. A better understanding of early biochemical and immunological events in ARDS could inform the development of new preventive and treatment strategies. To determine select peripheral blood lipid mediator and leukocyte responses in patients at-risk for ARDS. Patients at risk for ARDS were randomized as part of a multicenter, double-blind clinical trial of aspirin versus placebo (LIPS-A; NCT01504867). Plasma thromboxane B2 (TxB2), 15-epi-LXA4 (aspirin-triggered lipoxin A4, ATL), and peripheral blood leukocyte number and activation were determined upon enrollment and after treatment with either aspirin or placebo. Thirty-three of 367 subjects (9.0%) developed ARDS after randomization. Baseline ATL levels, total monocyte counts, intermediate monocyte (IntMo) counts, and Mo-PA were associated with the development of ARDS. Peripheral blood neutrophil count and monocyte-platelet aggregates significantly decreased over time. Of note, 9 subjects developed ARDS after randomization yet prior to study drug initiation, including 7 subjects assigned to aspirin treatment. Subjects without ARDS at the time of first dose demonstrated a lower incidence of ARDS with aspirin treatment. Compared with placebo, aspirin significantly decreased TxB2 and increased the ATL/TxB2 ratio. Biomarkers of intravascular monocyte activation in at-risk patients were associated with development of ARDS. The potential clinical benefit of early aspirin for prevention of ARDS remains uncertain. Together, results of the biochemical and immunological analyses provide a window into the early pathogenesis of human ARDS, and represent potential vascular biomarkers of ARDS risk.

Addressing Social-Emotional Development and Infant Mental Health in Early Childhood Systems. Building State Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Series, Number 12

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zeanah, Paula D.; Stafford, Brian S.; Nagle, Geoffrey A.; Rice, Thomas

2005-01-01

The science of early development and our understanding of the impact of early experience on later social, emotional, and cognitive development has grown dramatically in the past three decades. Because the data are compelling and far-reaching, there has been increasing interest and concern about the quality of the infant's earliest experiences, and…

Disease activity decrease is associated with improvement in work productivity over 1 year in early axial spondyloarthritis (SPondyloArthritis Caught Early cohort).

PubMed

van Lunteren, Miranda; Ez-Zaitouni, Zineb; Fongen, Camilla; Landewé, Robert; Ramonda, Roberta; van der Heijde, Désirée; van Gaalen, Floris A

2017-12-01

To assess if a change in disease activity is associated with a change in work productivity loss (WPL) over 1 year in early axial SpA (axSpA) patients. Baseline and 1 year data of axSpA patients in the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early cohort were analysed. Linear regression models were built explaining the change in the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) over time by the change in absenteeism, presenteeism, WPL and activity impairment over time. Effect modification and confounding were tested for age, gender, arm of Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society classification criteria, HLA-B27, duration of chronic back pain, profession and medication. At baseline, in 105 axSpA patients (48% female, mean age 30.8 years, mean symptom duration 13.6 months, 92% HLA-B27 positive, 24% radiographic sacroiliitis), the mean ASDAS was 2.4 (s.d. 1.0), absenteeism 9% (s.d. 23), presenteeism 33% (s.d. 28), WPL 36% (s.d. 30) and activity impairment 37% (s.d. 25). After 1 year, the mean ASDAS decreased to 2.0 (s.d. 0.8) and absenteeism, presenteeism, WPL and activity impairment improved to 6% (s.d. 22), 26% (s.d. 26), 27% (s.d. 29) and 27% (s.d. 26), respectively. Models showed that if ASDAS decreased 1 unit, absenteeism, presenteeism, WPL and activity impairment improved by 5, 17, 16 and 18%, respectively. The impact of disease activity on work productivity was higher in patients with shorter symptom duration and the impact on absenteeism was higher in patients starting pharmacological treatment. In early axSpA patients, work productivity and daily activities are seriously impacted at baseline and 1 year. However, decreasing disease activity is associated with marked improvements in work productivity and daily activities. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Utility of High Throughput Screening Techniques to Predict Stability of Monoclonal Antibody Formulations During Early Stage Development.

PubMed

Goldberg, Deborah S; Lewus, Rachael A; Esfandiary, Reza; Farkas, David C; Mody, Neil; Day, Katrina J; Mallik, Priyanka; Tracka, Malgorzata B; Sealey, Smita K; Samra, Hardeep S

2017-08-01

Selecting optimal formulation conditions for monoclonal antibodies for first time in human clinical trials is challenging due to short timelines and reliance on predictive assays to ensure product quality and adequate long-term stability. Accelerated stability studies are considered to be the gold standard for excipient screening, but they are relatively low throughput and time consuming. High throughput screening (HTS) techniques allow for large amounts of data to be collected quickly and easily, and can be used to screen solution conditions for early formulation development. The utility of using accelerated stability compared to HTS techniques (differential scanning light scattering and differential scanning fluorescence) for early formulation screening was evaluated along with the impact of excipients of various types on aggregation of monoclonal antibodies from multiple IgG subtypes. The excipient rank order using quantitative HTS measures was found to correlate with accelerated stability aggregation rate ranking for only 33% (by differential scanning fluorescence) to 42% (by differential scanning light scattering) of the antibodies tested, due to the high intrinsic stability and minimal impact of excipients on aggregation rates and HTS data. Also explored was a case study of employing a platform formulation instead of broader formulation screening for early formulation development. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Control of early seed development.

PubMed

Chaudhury, A M; Koltunow, A; Payne, T; Luo, M; Tucker, M R; Dennis, E S; Peacock, W J

2001-01-01

Seed development requires coordinated expression of embryo and endosperm and has contributions from both sporophytic and male and female gametophytic genes. Genetic and molecular analyses in recent years have started to illuminate how products of these multiple genes interact to initiate seed development. Imprinting or differential expression of paternal and maternal genes seems to be involved in controlling seed development, presumably by controlling gene expression in developing endosperm. Epigenetic processes such as chromatin remodeling and DNA methylation affect imprinting of key seed-specific genes; however, the identity of many of these genes remains unknown. The discovery of FIS genes has illuminated control of autonomous endosperm development, a component of apomixis, which is an important developmental and agronomic trait. FIS genes are targets of imprinting, and the genes they control in developing endosperm are also regulated by DNA methylation and chromatin remodeling genes. These results define some exciting future areas of research in seed development.

Digital health for the End TB Strategy: developing priority products and making them work

PubMed Central

Timimi, Hazim; Kurosinski, Pascal; Migliori, Giovanni Battista; Van Gemert, Wayne; Denkinger, Claudia; Isaacs, Chris; Story, Alistair; Garfein, Richard S.; do Valle Bastos, Luis Gustavo; Yassin, Mohammed A.; Rusovich, Valiantsin; Skrahina, Alena; Van Hoi, Le; Broger, Tobias; Abubakar, Ibrahim; Hayward, Andrew; Thomas, Bruce V.; Temesgen, Zelalem; Quraishi, Subhi; von Delft, Dalene; Jaramillo, Ernesto; Weyer, Karin; Raviglione, Mario C.

2016-01-01

In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the End TB Strategy in response to a World Health Assembly Resolution requesting Member States to end the worldwide epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) by 2035. For the strategy's objectives to be realised, the next 20 years will need novel solutions to address the challenges posed by TB to health professionals, and to affected people and communities. Information and communication technology presents opportunities for innovative approaches to support TB efforts in patient care, surveillance, programme management and electronic learning. The effective application of digital health products at a large scale and their continued development need the engagement of TB patients and their caregivers, innovators, funders, policy-makers, advocacy groups, and affected communities. In April 2015, WHO established its Global Task Force on Digital Health for TB to advocate and support the development of digital health innovations in global efforts to improve TB care and prevention. We outline the group's approach to stewarding this process in alignment with the three pillars of the End TB Strategy. The supplementary material of this article includes target product profiles, as developed by early 2016, defining nine priority digital health concepts and products that are strategically positioned to enhance TB action at the country level. PMID:27230443

The Legacy of Early Experiences in Development: Formalizing Alternative Models of How Early Experiences Are Carried Forward over Time

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fraley, R. Chris; Roisman, Glenn I.; Haltigan, John D.

2013-01-01

Psychologists have long debated the role of early experience in social and cognitive development. However, traditional approaches to studying this issue are not well positioned to address this debate. The authors present simulations that indicate that the associations between early experiences and later outcomes should approach different…

Environmental estrogens alter early development in Xenopus laevis.

PubMed

Bevan, Cassandra L; Porter, Donna M; Prasad, Anita; Howard, Marthe J; Henderson, Leslie P

2003-04-01

A growing number of environmental toxicants found in pesticides, herbicides, and industrial solvents are believed to have deleterious effects on development by disrupting hormone-sensitive processes. We exposed Xenopus laevis embryos at early gastrula to the commonly encountered environmental estrogens nonylphenol, octylphenol, and methoxychlor, the antiandrogen, p,p-DDE, or the synthetic androgen, 17 alpha-methyltestosterone at concentrations ranging from 10 nM to 10 microM and examined them at tailbud stages (approximately 48 hr of treatment). Exposure to the three environmental estrogens, as well as to the natural estrogen 17 beta-estradiol, increased mortality, induced morphologic deformations, increased apoptosis, and altered the deposition and differentiation of neural crest-derived melanocytes in tailbud stage embryos. Although neural crest-derived melanocytes were markedly altered in embryos treated with estrogenic toxicants, expression of the early neural crest maker Xslug, a factor that regulates both the induction and subsequent migration of neural crest cells, was not affected, suggesting that the disruption induced by these compounds with respect to melanocyte development may occur at later stages of their differentiation. Co-incubation of embryos with the pure antiestrogen ICI 182,780 blocked the ability of nonylphenol to induce abnormalities in body shape and in melanocyte differentiation but did not block the effects of methoxychlor. Our data indicate not only that acute exposure to these environmental estrogens induces deleterious effects on early vertebrate development but also that different environmental estrogens may alter the fate of a specific cell type via different mechanisms. Finally, our data suggest that the differentiation of neural crest-derived melanocytes may be particularly sensitive to the disruptive actions of these ubiquitous chemical contaminants.

Marijuana, Spice ‘herbal high’, and early neural development: implications for rescheduling and legalization

PubMed Central

Psychoyos, Delphine; Vinod, K. Yaragudri

2014-01-01

Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug by pregnant women in the world. In utero exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), a major psychoactive component of marijuana, is associated with an increased risk for anencephaly and neurobehavioural deficiencies in the offspring, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, and memory impairment. Recent studies demonstrate that the developing central nervous system (CNS) is susceptible to the effects of Δ9-THC and other cannabimimetics, including the psychoactive ingredients of the branded product ‘Spice’ branded products. These exocannabinoids interfere with the function of an endocannabinoid (eCB) system, present in the developing CNS from E12.5 (week 5 of gestation in humans), and required for proliferation, migration, and differentiation of neurons. Until recently, it was not known whether the eCB system is also present in the developing CNS during the initial stages of its ontogeny, i.e. from E7.0 onwards (week 2 of gestation in humans), and if so, whether this system is also susceptible to the action of exocannabinoids. Here, we review current data, in which the presence of an eCB system during the initial stage of development of the CNS is demonstrated. Furthermore, we focus on recent advances on the effect of canabimimetics on early gestation. The relevance of these findings and potential adverse developmental consequences of in utero exposure to ‘high potency’ marijuana, Spice branded products and/or cannabinoid research chemicals during this period is discussed. Finally, we address the implication of these findings in terms of the potential dangers of synthetic cannabinoid use during pregnancy, and the ongoing debate over legalization of marijuana. PMID:22887867

The maturation of cortical sleep rhythms and networks over early development.

PubMed

Chu, C J; Leahy, J; Pathmanathan, J; Kramer, M A; Cash, S S

2014-07-01

Although neuronal activity drives all aspects of cortical development, how human brain rhythms spontaneously mature remains an active area of research. We sought to systematically evaluate the emergence of human brain rhythms and functional cortical networks over early development. We examined cortical rhythms and coupling patterns from birth through adolescence in a large cohort of healthy children (n=384) using scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) in the sleep state. We found that the emergence of brain rhythms follows a stereotyped sequence over early development. In general, higher frequencies increase in prominence with striking regional specificity throughout development. The coordination of these rhythmic activities across brain regions follows a general pattern of maturation in which broadly distributed networks of low-frequency oscillations increase in density while networks of high frequency oscillations become sparser and more highly clustered. Our results indicate that a predictable program directs the development of key rhythmic components and physiological brain networks over early development. This work expands our knowledge of normal cortical development. The stereotyped neurophysiological processes observed at the level of rhythms and networks may provide a scaffolding to support critical periods of cognitive growth. Furthermore, these conserved patterns could provide a sensitive biomarker for cortical health across development. Copyright © 2013 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV): Building Health and Early Development with the Pediatric Family-Centered Medical Home

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willis, David W.

2013-01-01

President Obama announced his Early Learning Agenda during his Second Inaugural Address. This announcement has galvanized a special focus on early childhood policy and practices, for the prenatal to 5-year-old period, to improve educational outcomes for America's youth. The emergent science of early childhood development places an emphasis on…

Sociocultural Contexts for the Early Development of Semiotic Production

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braswell, Gregory S.

2006-01-01

Children constantly encounter signs during cultural practices, although many theories do not fully acknowledge sociocultural aspects of semiotic development. The author examines research on cultural practices and contexts in which children learn to produce signs involving representational drawing and pretend play. This work is contrasted with more…

The Proteomic Signature of Aspergillus fumigatus During Early Development*

PubMed Central

Cagas, Steven E.; Jain, Mohit Raja; Li, Hong; Perlin, David S.

2011-01-01

Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprophytic fungus that causes a range of diseases in humans including invasive aspergillosis. All forms of disease begin with the inhalation of conidia, which germinate and develop. Four stages of early development were evaluated using the gel free system of isobaric tagging for relative and absolute quantitation to determine the full proteomic profile of the pathogen. A total of 461 proteins were identified at 0, 4, 8, and 16 h and fold changes for each were established. Ten proteins including the hydrophobin rodlet protein RodA and a protein involved in melanin synthesis Abr2 were found to decrease relative to conidia. To generate a more comprehensive view of early development, a whole genome microarray analysis was performed comparing conidia to 8 and 16 h of growth. A total of 1871 genes were found to change significantly at 8 h with 1001 genes up-regulated and 870 down-regulated. At 16 h, 1235 genes changed significantly with 855 up-regulated and 380 down-regulated. When a comparison between the proteomics and microarray data was performed at 8 h, a total of 22 proteins with significant changes also had corresponding genes that changed significantly. When the same comparison was performed at 16 h, 12 protein and gene combinations were found. This study, the most comprehensive to date, provides insights into early pathways activated during growth and development of A. fumigatus. It reveals a pathogen that is gearing up for rapid growth by building translation machinery, generating ATP, and is very much committed to aerobic metabolism. PMID:21825280

The early Cambrian fossil embryo Pseudooides is a direct-developing cnidarian, not an early ecdysozoan.

PubMed

Duan, Baichuan; Dong, Xi-Ping; Porras, Luis; Vargas, Kelly; Cunningham, John A; Donoghue, Philip C J

2017-12-20

Early Cambrian Pseudooides prima has been described from embryonic and post-embryonic stages of development, exhibiting long germ-band development. There has been some debate about the pattern of segmentation, but this interpretation, as among the earliest records of ecdysozoans, has been generally accepted. Here, we show that the 'germ band' of P. prima embryos separates along its mid axis during development, with the transverse furrows between the 'somites' unfolding into the polar aperture of the ten-sided theca of Hexaconularia sichuanensis , conventionally interpreted as a scyphozoan cnidarian; co-occurring post-embryonic remains of ecdysozoans are unrelated. We recognize H. sichuanensis as a junior synonym of P. prima as a consequence of identifying these two form-taxa as distinct developmental stages of the same organism. Direct development in P. prima parallels the co-occuring olivooids Olivooides, and Quadrapyrgites and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of a novel phenotype dataset indicates that, despite differences in their tetra-, penta- and pseudo-hexa-radial symmetry, these hexangulaconulariids comprise a clade of scyphozoan medusozoans, with Arthrochites and conulariids, that all exhibit direct development from embryo to thecate polyp. The affinity of hexangulaconulariids and olivooids to extant scyphozoan medusozoans indicates that the prevalence of tetraradial symmetry and indirect development are a vestige of a broader spectrum of body-plan symmetries and developmental modes that was manifest in their early Phanerozoic counterparts. © 2017 The Authors.

The early Cambrian fossil embryo Pseudooides is a direct-developing cnidarian, not an early ecdysozoan

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Early Cambrian Pseudooides prima has been described from embryonic and post-embryonic stages of development, exhibiting long germ-band development. There has been some debate about the pattern of segmentation, but this interpretation, as among the earliest records of ecdysozoans, has been generally accepted. Here, we show that the ‘germ band’ of P. prima embryos separates along its mid axis during development, with the transverse furrows between the ‘somites’ unfolding into the polar aperture of the ten-sided theca of Hexaconularia sichuanensis, conventionally interpreted as a scyphozoan cnidarian; co-occurring post-embryonic remains of ecdysozoans are unrelated. We recognize H. sichuanensis as a junior synonym of P. prima as a consequence of identifying these two form-taxa as distinct developmental stages of the same organism. Direct development in P. prima parallels the co-occuring olivooids Olivooides, and Quadrapyrgites and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of a novel phenotype dataset indicates that, despite differences in their tetra-, penta- and pseudo-hexa-radial symmetry, these hexangulaconulariids comprise a clade of scyphozoan medusozoans, with Arthrochites and conulariids, that all exhibit direct development from embryo to thecate polyp. The affinity of hexangulaconulariids and olivooids to extant scyphozoan medusozoans indicates that the prevalence of tetraradial symmetry and indirect development are a vestige of a broader spectrum of body-plan symmetries and developmental modes that was manifest in their early Phanerozoic counterparts. PMID:29237861

Systematic Product Development of Control and Diagnosis Functionalities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stetter, R.; Simundsson, A.

2017-01-01

In the scientific field of systematic product development a wide range of helpful methods, guidelines and tools were generated and published in recent years. Until now little special attention was given to design guidelines aiming at supporting product development engineers to design products that allow and support control or diagnosis functions. The general trend to ubiquitous computing and the first development steps towards cognitive systems as well as a general trend toward higher product safety, reliability and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) in many engineering fields lead to a higher importance of control and diagnosis. In this paper a first attempt is made to formulate general valid guidelines how products can be developed in order to allow and to achieve effective and efficient control and diagnosis. The guidelines are elucidated on the example of an automated guided vehicle. One main concern of this paper is the integration of control and diagnosis functionalities into the development of complete systems which include mechanical, electrical and electronic subsystems. For the development of such systems the strategies, methods and tools of systematic product development have attracted significant attention during the last decades. Today, the functionality and safety of most products is to a large degree dependent on control and diagnosis functionalities. Still, there is comparatively little research concentrating on the integration of the development of these functionalities into the overall product development processes. The paper starts with a background describing Systematic Product Development. The second section deals with the product development of the sample product. The third part clarifies the notions monitoring, control and diagnosis. The following parts summarize some insights and formulate first hypotheses concerning control and diagnosis in Systematic Product Development.

Giant Icebergs and Biological Productivity on Early Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uceda, E.; Fairen, A. G.; Woodworth-Lynas, C.

2016-12-01

We have previously presented evidence for furrows, dump structures and chains of craters that we interpret as indication for giant iceberg transport and grounding on very cold oceans on early Mars, both in the northern plains and in the Hellas basin. Structures include: 1. Furrows: The furrows are located in elevated areas or on local topographic highs, particularly on the Hellas basin. We interpret these features in terms of iceberg rafting and grounding. 2. Chains of craters: High-resolution images of Utopia and Isidis Basins reveal chains of crater-like structures several hundred meters wide and 1 to 5 km long. 3. Dump structures: Dark boulder clusters are revealed at large scales by their slightly darker tonality with respect to the surrounding terrain. These clusters have sizes ranging from several hundred meters to 1-2 km. On Earth's oceans, giant icebergs release melting water containing nanoparticulate iron and other micronutrients, which support biological metabolism and growth to the near-coastal euphotic ecosystems, many of which are iron limited. This iron limitation of primary producers has been documented in large regions of the Earth's oceans, most notably in polar areas proximal to significant glacial activity, and is counterbalanced by the substantial enrichment of terrigenous material supplied by icebergs. The biological productivity extends hundreds of kilometres from the giant icebergs, and persists for over one month after the iceberg passes. Here we propose that giant iceberg activity on early Mars could have promoted a similar enhancing of biological productivity on the planet's oceans. The identification of specific biosignatures in icebergs trails on Earth could give clues as to what kind of biosignatures could be expected on the ancient Mars ocean floors, and where to look for them. In particular, assuming that life existed on Mars coeval to glacial activity, enhanced concentrations of organic carbon could be anticipated near giant iceberg

Evaluating cardiac risk: exposure response analysis in early clinical drug development.

PubMed

Grenier, Julie; Paglialunga, Sabina; Morimoto, Bruce H; Lester, Robert M

2018-01-01

The assessment of a drug's cardiac liability has undergone considerable metamorphosis by regulators since International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirement for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use E14 guideline was introduced in 2005. Drug developers now have a choice in how proarrhythmia risk can be evaluated; the options include a dedicated thorough QT (TQT) study or exposure response (ER) modeling of intensive electrocardiogram (ECG) captured in early clinical development. The alternative approach of ER modeling was incorporated into a guidance document in 2015 as a primary analysis tool which could be utilized in early phase dose escalation studies as an option to perform a dedicated TQT trial. This review will describe the current state of ER modeling of intensive ECG data collected during early clinical drug development; the requirements with regard to the use of a positive control; and address the challenges and opportunities of this alternative approach to assessing QT liability.

Development of the Life Story in Early Adolescence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steiner, Kristina L.; Pillemer, David B.

2018-01-01

Life span developmental psychology proposes that the ability to create a coherent life narrative does not develop until early adolescence. Using a novel methodology, 10-, 12-, and 14-year-old participants were asked to tell their life stories aloud to a researcher. Later, participants separated their transcribed narratives into self-identified…

Family Concepts in Early Learning and Development Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Bridget A.; Sanchez, Claudia; Lee, Angela M.; Casillas, Nicole; Hansen, Caitlynn

2016-01-01

This exploratory study investigated the use of concepts related to families, parents, and the home in 51 state-level early learning and development standards documents. Guidelines from six national family involvement, engagement, and school-partnership models were used to create the Family Involvement Models Analysis Chart (FIMAC), which served as…

Ethnic Group Differences in Early Head Start Parents Parenting Beliefs and Practices and Links to Children's Early Cognitive Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keels, Micere

2009-01-01

Data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation study were used to examine the extent to which several factors mediate between- and within-ethnic-group differences in parenting beliefs and behaviors, and children's early cognitive development (analysis sample of 1198 families). The findings indicate that Hispanic-, European-, and…

Development of a metabolic biosignature for detection of early Lyme disease.

PubMed

Molins, Claudia R; Ashton, Laura V; Wormser, Gary P; Hess, Ann M; Delorey, Mark J; Mahapatra, Sebabrata; Schriefer, Martin E; Belisle, John T

2015-06-15

Early Lyme disease patients often present to the clinic prior to developing a detectable antibody response to Borrelia burgdorferi, the etiologic agent. Thus, existing 2-tier serology-based assays yield low sensitivities (29%-40%) for early infection. The lack of an accurate laboratory test for early Lyme disease contributes to misconceptions about diagnosis and treatment, and underscores the need for new diagnostic approaches. Retrospective serum samples from patients with early Lyme disease, other diseases, and healthy controls were analyzed for small molecule metabolites by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). A metabolomics data workflow was applied to select a biosignature for classifying early Lyme disease and non-Lyme disease patients. A statistical model of the biosignature was trained using the patients' LC-MS data, and subsequently applied as an experimental diagnostic tool with LC-MS data from additional patient sera. The accuracy of this method was compared with standard 2-tier serology. Metabolic biosignature development selected 95 molecular features that distinguished early Lyme disease patients from healthy controls. Statistical modeling reduced the biosignature to 44 molecular features, and correctly classified early Lyme disease patients and healthy controls with a sensitivity of 88% (84%-95%), and a specificity of 95% (90%-100%). Importantly, the metabolic biosignature correctly classified 77%-95% of the of serology negative Lyme disease patients. The data provide proof-of-concept that metabolic profiling for early Lyme disease can achieve significantly greater (P < .0001) diagnostic sensitivity than current 2-tier serology, while retaining high specificity. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Early development of synchrony in cortical activations in the human.

PubMed

Koolen, N; Dereymaeker, A; Räsänen, O; Jansen, K; Vervisch, J; Matic, V; Naulaers, G; De Vos, M; Van Huffel, S; Vanhatalo, S

2016-05-13

Early intermittent cortical activity is thought to play a crucial role in the growth of neuronal network development, and large scale brain networks are known to provide the basis for higher brain functions. Yet, the early development of the large scale synchrony in cortical activations is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the early intermittent cortical activations seen in the human scalp EEG show a clear developmental course during the last trimester of pregnancy, the period of intensive growth of cortico-cortical connections. We recorded scalp EEG from altogether 22 premature infants at post-menstrual age between 30 and 44 weeks, and the early cortical synchrony was quantified using recently introduced activation synchrony index (ASI). The developmental correlations of ASI were computed for individual EEG signals as well as anatomically and mathematically defined spatial subgroups. We report two main findings. First, we observed a robust and statistically significant increase in ASI in all cortical areas. Second, there were significant spatial gradients in the synchrony in fronto-occipital and left-to-right directions. These findings provide evidence that early cortical activity is increasingly synchronized across the neocortex. The ASI-based metrics introduced in our work allow direct translational comparison to in vivo animal models, as well as hold promise for implementation as a functional developmental biomarker in future research on human neonates. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Chinese ethnic meat products: Continuity and development.

PubMed

Zeng, Weicai; Wen, Wenting; Deng, Yue; Tian, Yuanyuan; Sun, Honghu; Sun, Qun

2016-10-01

With their distinctive sensory characterizations and unique processing technologies, Chinese ethnic meat products possess great potential for development and continuity in modern China's meat industry. Due to the greater demand for meat products and higher quality and safety concerns in economically fast growing China, the development and continuity of ethnic meat products face its own unique challenges. In this review, the classification of typical ethnic products and their characteristics, and the research progress on their quality and processing technologies are discussed. The application of innovative and green technologies to improve the safety and quality of ethnic meat products for greater industrialization and sustainable development is highlighted. Furthermore, the strategy for promoting the production of Chinese ethnic meat products during the next five years is presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CD14 and TLR4 are expressed early in tammar (Macropus eugenii) neonate development.

PubMed

Daly, Kerry A; Lefévre, Christophe; Nicholas, Kevin; Deane, Elizabeth; Williamson, Peter

2008-04-01

Marsupials are born in a relatively underdeveloped state and develop during a period of intensive maturation in the postnatal period. During this period, the young marsupial lacks a competent immune system, but manages to survive despite the potential of exposure to environmental pathogens. Passive immune transfer via the milk is one well-recognised strategy to compensate the neonate, but there also may be innate immune mechanisms in place. In this study, CD14 and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), integral molecular components of pathogen recognition, were identified and characterised for the first time in a marsupial, the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii). Functional motifs of tammar CD14 and the toll/interleukin receptor (TIR) domain of TLR4 were highly conserved. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) binding residues and the TLR4 interaction site of CD14 were conserved in all marsupials. The TIR signalling domain had 84% identity within marsupials and 77% with eutherians. Stimulation of adult tammar leukocytes resulted in the induction of a biphasic pattern of CD14 and TLR4 expression, and coincided with increased production of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha. Differential patterns of expression of CD14 and TLR4 were observed in tammar pouch young early in development, suggesting that early maturation of the innate immune system in these animals may have developed as an immune survival strategy to protect the marsupial neonate from exposure to microbial pathogens.

Future Directions for Research on the Development and Prevention of Early Conduct Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaw, Daniel S.

2013-01-01

This article describes our state of knowledge regarding the development and prevention of conduct problems in early childhood, then identifies directions that would benefit future basic and applied research. Our understanding about the course and risk factors associated with early-developing conduct problems has been significantly enhanced during…

Teachers' Perceptions of Professional Development in Chilean State-Funded Early Childhood Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gómez, Mariel; Ford, Laurie

2017-01-01

This article presents the results of a study on professional development in Chilean state-funded early childhood education. Based on a multiple-case study design and drawing on qualitative methods we explored teachers' perspectives on professional development at two early childhood educational centers. Two centers' directors and four early…

[Advances in early childhood development: from neurons to big scale programs].

PubMed

Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael; Rizzoli-Córdoba, Antonio; Alonso-Cuevas, Aranzazú; Reyes-Morales, Hortensia

Early childhood development (ECD) is the basis of countries' economic and social development and their ability to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Gestation and the first three years of life are critical for children to have adequate physical, psychosocial, emotional and cognitive development for the rest of their lives. Nurturing care and protection of children during gestation and early childhood are necessary for the development of trillions of neurons and trillions of synapses necessary for development. ECD requires access to good nutrition and health services from gestation, responsive caregiving according to the child's developmental stage, social protection and child welfare, and early stimulation and learning opportunities. Six actions are recommended to improve national ECD programs: expand political will and funding; create a supportive, evidence-based policy environment; build capacity through inter-sectoral coordination; ensure fair and transparent governance of programs and services; increase support for multidisciplinary research; and promote the development of leaders. Mexico has made significant progress under the leadership of the Health Ministry, but still faces significant challenges. The recent creation of a national inter-sectoral framework to enable ECD with support of international organizations and the participation of civil society organizations can help overcome these challenges. Copyright © 2017 Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

An Early Years Toolbox for Assessing Early Executive Function, Language, Self-Regulation, and Social Development: Validity, Reliability, and Preliminary Norms

PubMed Central

Howard, Steven J.; Melhuish, Edward

2016-01-01

Several methods of assessing executive function (EF), self-regulation, language development, and social development in young children have been developed over previous decades. Yet new technologies make available methods of assessment not previously considered. In resolving conceptual and pragmatic limitations of existing tools, the Early Years Toolbox (EYT) offers substantial advantages for early assessment of language, EF, self-regulation, and social development. In the current study, results of our large-scale administration of this toolbox to 1,764 preschool and early primary school students indicated very good reliability, convergent validity with existing measures, and developmental sensitivity. Results were also suggestive of better capture of children’s emerging abilities relative to comparison measures. Preliminary norms are presented, showing a clear developmental trajectory across half-year age groups. The accessibility of the EYT, as well as its advantages over existing measures, offers considerably enhanced opportunities for objective measurement of young children’s abilities to enable research and educational applications. PMID:28503022

Cognitive Development in Infantile-Onset Pompe Disease Under Very Early Enzyme Replacement Therapy.

PubMed

Lai, Chih-Jou; Hsu, Ting-Rong; Yang, Chia-Feng; Chen, Shyi-Jou; Chuang, Ya-Chin; Niu, Dau-Ming

2016-12-01

Most patients with infantile-onset Pompe disease die in early infancy before beginning enzyme replacement therapy, which has made it difficult to evaluate the impact of Pompe disease on cognitive development. Patients with infantile-onset Pompe disease can survive with enzyme replacement therapy, and physicians can evaluate cognitive development in these patients. We established an effective newborn screening program with quick clinical diagnostic criteria. Cognitive and motor development were evaluated using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition at 6, 12, and 24 months of age. The patients who were treated very early demonstrate normal cognitive development with no significant change in cognition during this period (P = .18 > .05). The cognitive development was positively correlated with motor development (r = 0.533, P = .011). The results indicated that very early enzyme replacement therapy could protect cognitive development in patients with infantile-onset Pompe disease up to 24 months of age. © The Author(s) 2016.

Parental report of the early development of children with regressive autism: the delays-plus-regression phenotype.

PubMed

Ozonoff, Sally; Williams, Brenda J; Landa, Rebecca

2005-12-01

Most children with autism demonstrate developmental abnormalities in their first year, whereas others display regression after mostly normal development. Few studies have examined the early development of the latter group. This study developed a retrospective measure, the Early Development Questionnaire (EDQ), to collect specific, parent-reported information about development in the first 18 months. Based on their EDQ scores, 60 children with autism between the ages of 3 and 9 were divided into three groups: an early onset group (n = 29), a definite regression group (n = 23), and a heterogeneous mixed group (n = 8). Significant differences in early social development were found between the early onset and regression groups. However, over 50 percent of the children who experienced a regression demonstrated some early social deficits during the first year of life, long before regression and the apparent onset of autism. This group, tentatively labeled 'delays-plus-regression', deserves further study.

The Early Tech Development Course: Experiential Commercialization Education for the Medical Academician.

PubMed

Servoss, Jonathan; Chang, Connie; Fay, Jonathan; Ward, Kevin

2017-04-01

Research produced by medical academicians holds promise for developing into biomedical innovations in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and health care information technology; however, the road to biomedical innovation is fraught with risk, including the challenge of moving from basic research insight onto a viable commercialization path. Compounding this challenge is the growing demand on medical academicians to be more productive in their clinical, teaching, and research duties within a resource-constrained environment. In 2014, the University of Michigan (UM) Medical School and College of Engineering codesigned and implemented an accelerated, biomedical-focused version of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The UM Early Tech Development (ETD) Course, designed for medical academicians exploring the commercial potential of early-stage ideas, covers the NSF I-Corps concept; supports the formation of teams of faculty, graduate, and medical students; and accommodates medical academicians' schedules. From 2014 to 2015, the ETD Course graduated 39 project teams from UM and other institutions. One-third of the teams have continued to pursue their projects, receiving additional funding, engaging industry partners, or enrolling in the NSF I-Corps program. The ETD Course, a potential pipeline to the NSF I-Corps program, captures a target audience of medical academicians and others in academic medicine. To better understand the long-term effects of the course and its relationship to the NSF I-Corps program, the authors will conduct a study on the careers of all ETD Course graduates, including those who have enrolled in NSF I-Corps versus those who have not.

The Early Tech Development Course: Experiential Commercialization Education for the Medical Academician

PubMed Central

Chang, Connie; Fay, Jonathan; Ward, Kevin

2017-01-01

Problem Research produced by medical academicians holds promise for developing into biomedical innovations in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and health care information technology; however, the road to biomedical innovation is fraught with risk, including the challenge of moving from basic research insight onto a viable commercialization path. Compounding this challenge is the growing demand on medical academicians to be more productive in their clinical, teaching, and research duties within a resource-constrained environment. Approach In 2014, the University of Michigan (UM) Medical School and College of Engineering codesigned and implemented an accelerated, biomedical-focused version of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The UM Early Tech Development (ETD) Course, designed for medical academicians exploring the commercial potential of early-stage ideas, covers the NSF I-Corps concept; supports the formation of teams of faculty, graduate, and medical students; and accommodates medical academicians’ schedules. Outcomes From 2014 to 2015, the ETD Course graduated 39 project teams from UM and other institutions. One-third of the teams have continued to pursue their projects, receiving additional funding, engaging industry partners, or enrolling in the NSF I-Corps program. Next Steps The ETD Course, a potential pipeline to the NSF I-Corps program, captures a target audience of medical academicians and others in academic medicine. To better understand the long-term effects of the course and its relationship to the NSF I-Corps program, the authors will conduct a study on the careers of all ETD Course graduates, including those who have enrolled in NSF I-Corps versus those who have not. PMID:28351064

Early Learning Foundations. Indiana's Early Learning Development Framework Aligned to the Indiana Academic Standards, 2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Indiana Department of Education, 2015

2015-01-01

The "Foundations" (English/language arts, mathematics, social emotional skills, approaches to play and learning, science, social studies, creative arts, and physical health and growth) are Indiana's early learning development framework and are aligned to the 2014 Indiana Academic Standards. This framework provides core elements that…

Association of Polar Early Career Scientists: a model for experiential learning in professional development for students and early career researchers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradley, A. C.; Hindshaw, R. S.; Fugmann, G.; Mariash, H.

2016-12-01

The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists was established by early career researchers during the 2007-2008 International Polar Year as an organization for early career researchers in the polar and cryospheric sciences. APECS works to promote early career researchers through soft-skills training in both research and outreach activities, through advocating for including early career researchers in all levels of the scientific process and scientific management, and through supporting a world-wide network of researchers in varied fields. APECS is lead by early career researchers; this self-driven model has proved to be an effective means for developing the leadership, management, and communication skills that are essential in the sciences, and has shown to be sustainable even in a community where frequent turn-over is inherent to the members. Since its inception, APECS has reached over 5,500 members in more than 80 countries, and we have placed more than 50 early career researchers on working groups and steering committees with organizations around the world in the last two years alone. The close partnerships that APECS has with national and international organizations exposes members to both academic and alternative career paths, including those at the science-policy interface. This paper describes APECS's approach to experiential learning in professional development and the best practices identified over our nearly ten years as an organization.

Developing an Assessment Instrument to Measure Early Elementary Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schoen, Robert C.; Bray, Wendy; Wolfe, Christopher; Tazaz, Amanda M.; Nielsen, Lynne

2017-01-01

This study reports on the development and field study of K-TEEM, a web-based assessment instrument designed to measure mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) at the early elementary level. The development process involved alignment with early elementary curriculum standards, expert review of items and scoring criteria, cognitive interviews with…

Early Writing Development: Kindergarten Teachers' Beliefs about Emergent Writing in Qatari Preschool Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Maadadi, Fatima; Ihmeideh, Fathi

2016-01-01

Writing often begins during the very early years of childhood; however, some children first learn writing when they begin attending school. Teachers' beliefs about early writing development can influence when and how children learn to write. The purpose of this study was to determine kindergarten teachers' beliefs about the development of…

Economic evaluation of medical tests at the early phases of development: a systematic review of empirical studies.

PubMed

Frempong, Samuel N; Sutton, Andrew J; Davenport, Clare; Barton, Pelham

2018-02-01

There is little specific guidance on the implementation of cost-effectiveness modelling at the early stage of test development. The aim of this study was to review the literature in this field to examine the methodologies and tools that have been employed to date. Areas Covered: A systematic review to identify relevant studies in established literature databases. Five studies were identified and included for narrative synthesis. These studies revealed that there is no consistent approach in this growing field. The perspective of patients and the potential for value of information (VOI) to provide information on the value of future research is often overlooked. Test accuracy is an essential consideration, with most studies having described and included all possible test results in their analysis, and conducted extensive sensitivity analyses on important parameters. Headroom analysis was considered in some instances but at the early development stage (not the concept stage). Expert commentary: The techniques available to modellers that can demonstrate the value of conducting further research and product development (i.e. VOI analysis, headroom analysis) should be better utilized. There is the need for concerted efforts to develop rigorous methodology in this growing field to maximize the value and quality of such analysis.

Product Development and Commercialization of Diagnostic or Life Science Products for Scientists and Researchers.

PubMed

Alonso, Meghan M

2017-01-01

Commercializing a diagnostic or life science product often encompasses different goals than that of research and grant funding. There are several necessary steps, and a strategy needs to be well defined in order to be successful. Product development requires input from and between various groups within a company and, for academia, outside entities. The product development stakeholder groups/entities are research, marketing, development, regulatory, manufacturing, clinical, safety/efficacy, and quality. After initial research and development, much of the work in product development can be outsourced or jointly created using public-private partnerships. This chapter serves as an overview of the product development process and provides a guide to best define a product strategy.

Extension's Capacity to Deliver Quality Early Childhood Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durden, Tonia R.; Mincemoyer, Claudia C.; Gerdes, Jennifer; Lodl, Kathleen

2013-01-01

In recent years much attention has focused on the role of enhancing a teacher's professional knowledge and skills in helping to improve the quality of early care experiences for young children birth-5. In the study reported here, an environmental scan of the early childhood professional development programs offered within the Extension system…

User input in iterative design for prevention product development: leveraging interdisciplinary methods to optimize effectiveness.

PubMed

Guthrie, Kate M; Rosen, Rochelle K; Vargas, Sara E; Guillen, Melissa; Steger, Arielle L; Getz, Melissa L; Smith, Kelley A; Ramirez, Jaime J; Kojic, Erna M

2017-10-01

The development of HIV-preventive topical vaginal microbicides has been challenged by a lack of sufficient adherence in later stage clinical trials to confidently evaluate effectiveness. This dilemma has highlighted the need to integrate translational research earlier in the drug development process, essentially applying behavioral science to facilitate the advances of basic science with respect to the uptake and use of biomedical prevention technologies. In the last several years, there has been an increasing recognition that the user experience, specifically the sensory experience, as well as the role of meaning-making elicited by those sensations, may play a more substantive role than previously thought. Importantly, the role of the user-their sensory perceptions, their judgements of those experiences, and their willingness to use a product-is critical in product uptake and consistent use post-marketing, ultimately realizing gains in global public health. Specifically, a successful prevention product requires an efficacious drug, an efficient drug delivery system, and an effective user. We present an integrated iterative drug development and user experience evaluation method to illustrate how user-centered formulation design can be iterated from the early stages of preclinical development to leverage the user experience. Integrating the user and their product experiences into the formulation design process may help optimize both the efficiency of drug delivery and the effectiveness of the user.

Approaches to Developing Health in Early Years Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mooney, Ann; Boddy, Janet; Statham, June; Warwick, Ian

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to consider the opportunities and difficulties in developing health-promotion work in early years settings in the UK. Design/methodology/approach: As the first study of its kind conducted in the UK, a multi-method approach was adopted involving: an overview of health-related guidance and of effective…

Working with the Cracks in the Rigging in Researching Early Childhood Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barron, Ian; Taylor, Lisa; Nettleton, Jan; Amin, Shabnam

2017-01-01

This article seeks to explore the development of the relationship between a group of early childhood academics from the same university and practitioners from a particular early years setting in the north of England into an innovative professional development and research project (2-Curious). The article uses Foucauldian notions of heterotopia to…

Studies toward birth and early mammalian development in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ronca, April E.

2003-10-01

Sustaining life beyond Earth on either space stations or other planets will require a clear understanding of how the space environment affects key phases of mammalian reproduction and development. Pregnancy, parturition (birth) and the early development of offspring are complex processes essential for successful reproduction and the proliferation of mammalian species. While no mammal has yet undergone birth within the space environment, studies spanning the gravity continuum from 0- to 2-g are revealing startling insights into how reproduction and development may proceed under gravitational conditions deviating from those typically experienced on Earth. In this report, I review studies of pregnant Norway rats and their offspring flown in microgravity (μg) onboard the NASA Space Shuttle throughout the period corresponding to mid- to late gestation, and analogous studies of pregnant rats exposed to hypergravity ( ht) onboard the NASA Ames Research Center 24-ft centrifuge. Studies of postnatal rats flown in space or exposed to centrifugation are reviewed. Although many important questions remain unanswered, the available data suggest that numerous aspects of pregnancy, birth and early mammalian development can proceed under altered gravity conditions. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

Child Development, Early Childhood Education and Family Life: A Bibliography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reardon, Beverly, Comp.

This bibliographical listing of approximately 2500 books on child development, early childhood education and family life was compiled as a resource for parents and students. Books are listed alphabetically by author and are grouped according to the following categories: child development; observation of children; adolescence; language…

Promising Directions for Research and Development in Early Childhood Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, David L.

A survey of research and development studies currently needed in early childhood education stresses child development and its relation to instruction. Topics which have been discussed are perception, oral language, concept formation, learning set, motivation, and the psychology of learning. Universities and public school systems working together…

Culture and Early Language Development: Implications for Assessment and Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parada, Patricia M.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this qualitative study--"Culture and Early Language Development: Implications for Assessment and Intervention"--was to explore and describe the perceptions and beliefs of Salvadoran mothers of low socioeconomic status regarding the language development of their young children in order to identify cultural variations in…

Are the economics of pharmaceutical research and development changing?: productivity, patents and political pressures.

PubMed

Grabowski, Henry

2004-01-01

Pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) competition in the 1980s and 1990 s was characterised by rising R&D expenditures, favourable returns to innovators and the introduction of many new classes of drugs with high social benefits. However, in the past 3 years, the number of new drug introductions has been well below the historical trend, while the cost per new drug continues to increase. In addition to lagging R&D productivity, the industry has been characterised by other economic and policy uncertainties. These include a wave of early patent challenges and growing political pressure to contain pharmaceutical expenditures. This paper examines the consequences of these developments.

Early physical and motor development of mouse offspring exposed to valproic acid throughout intrauterine development.

PubMed

Podgorac, Jelena; Pešić, Vesna; Pavković, Željko; Martać, Ljiljana; Kanazir, Selma; Filipović, Ljupka; Sekulić, Slobodan

2016-09-15

Clinical research has identified developmental delay and physical malformations in children prenatally exposed to the antiepileptic drug (AED) valproic acid (VPA). However, the early signs of neurodevelopmental deficits, their evolution during postnatal development and growth, and the dose effects of VPA are not well understood. The present study aimed to examine the influence of maternal exposure to a wide dose range (50, 100, 200 and 400mg/kg/day) of VPA during breeding and gestation on early physical and neuromotor development in mice offspring. Body weight gain, eye opening, the surface righting reflex (SRR) and tail suspension test (TST) were examined in the offspring at postnatal days 5, 10 and 15. We observed that: (1) all tested doses of VPA reduced the body weight of the offspring and the timing of eye opening; (2) offspring exposed to VPA displayed immature forms of righting and required more time to complete the SRR; (3) latency for the first immobilization in the TST is shorter in offspring exposed to higher doses of VPA; however, mice in all groups exposed to VPA exhibited atypical changes in this parameter during the examined period of maturation; (4) irregularities in swinging and curling activities were observed in animals exposed to higher doses of VPA. This study points to delayed somatic development and postponed maturation of the motor system in all of the offspring prenatally exposed to VPA, with stronger effects observed at higher doses. The results implicate that the strategy of continuous monitoring of general health and achievements in motor milestones during the early postnatal development in prenatally VPA-exposed offspring, irrespectively of the dose applied, could help to recognize early developmental irregularities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Early Program Development

NASA Image and Video Library

1969-01-01

As part of the Space Task Group's recommendations for more commonality and integration in America's space program, Marshall Space Flight Center engineers proposed an orbiting propellant storage facility to augment Space Shuttle missions. In this artist's concept from 1969 an early version of the Space Shuttle is shown refueling at the facility.

Relationship between the linguistic environments and early bilingual language development of hearing children in deaf-parented families.

PubMed

Kanto, Laura; Huttunen, Kerttu; Laakso, Marja-Leena

2013-04-01

We explored variation in the linguistic environments of hearing children of Deaf parents and how it was associated with their early bilingual language development. For that purpose we followed up the children's productive vocabulary (measured with the MCDI; MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory) and syntactic complexity (measured with the MLU10; mean length of the 10 longest utterances the child produced during videorecorded play sessions) in both Finnish Sign Language and spoken Finnish between the ages of 12 and 30 months. Additionally, we developed new methodology for describing the linguistic environments of the children (N = 10). Large variation was uncovered in both the amount and type of language input and language acquisition among the children. Language exposure and increases in productive vocabulary and syntactic complexity were interconnected. Language acquisition was found to be more dependent on the amount of exposure in sign language than in spoken language. This was judged to be related to the status of sign language as a minority language. The results are discussed in terms of parents' language choices, family dynamics in Deaf-parented families and optimal conditions for bilingual development.

Terrestrial production vs. extraterrestrial delivery of prebiotic organics to the early Earth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chyba, C. F.; Sagan, C.; Thomas, P. J.; Brookshaw, L.

1991-01-01

A comprehensive treatment of comet/asteroid interaction with the atmosphere, ensuring surface impact, and resulting organic pyrolysis is required to determine whether more than a negligible fraction of the organics in incident comets and asteroids actually survived collision with Earth. Results of such an investigation, using a smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulation of cometary and asteroidal impacts into both oceans and rock, demonstrate that organics will not survive impacts at velocities approx. greater than 10 km s(exp -1), and that even comets and asteroids as small as 100m in radius cannot be aerobraked to below this velocity in 1 bar atmospheres. However, for plausible dense (10 bar CO2) early atmospheres, there will be sufficient aerobraking during atmospheric passage for some organics to survive the ensuing impact. Combining these results with analytical fits to the lunar impact record shows that 4.5 Gyr ago Earth was accreting at least approx. 10(exp 6) kg yr(exp 1) of intact cometary organics, a flux which thereafter declined with a approx. 100 Myr half-life. The extent to which this influx was augmented by asteroid impacts, as well as the effect of more careful modelling of a variety of conservative approximations, is currently being quantified. These results may be placed in context by comparison with in situ organic production from a variety of terrestrial energy sources, as well as organic delivery by interplanetary dust. Which source dominated the early terrestrial prebiotic inventory is found to depend on the nature of the early terrestrial atmosphere. However, there is an intriguing symmetry: it is exactly those dense CO2 atmospheres where in situ atmospheric production of organic molecules should be the most difficult, in which intact cometary organics would be delivered in large amounts.

Early sepsis does not stimulate reactive oxygen species production and does not reduce cardiac function despite an increased inflammation status.

PubMed

Léger, Thibault; Charrier, Alice; Moreau, Clarisse; Hininger-Favier, Isabelle; Mourmoura, Evangelia; Rigaudière, Jean-Paul; Pitois, Elodie; Bouvier, Damien; Sapin, Vincent; Pereira, Bruno; Azarnoush, Kasra; Demaison, Luc

2017-07-01

If it is sustained for several days, sepsis can trigger severe abnormalities of cardiac function which leads to death in 50% of cases. This probably occurs through activation of toll-like receptor-9 by bacterial lipopolysaccharides and overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF- α and IL-1 β In contrast, early sepsis is characterized by the development of tachycardia. This study aimed at determining the early changes in the cardiac function during sepsis and at finding the mechanism responsible for the observed changes. Sixty male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to two groups, the first one being made septic by cecal ligation and puncture (sepsis group) and the second one being subjected to the same surgery without cecal ligation and puncture (sham-operated group). The cardiac function was assessed in vivo and ex vivo in standard conditions. Several parameters involved in the oxidative stress and inflammation were determined in the plasma and heart. As evidenced by the plasma level of TNF- α and gene expression of IL-1 β and TNF- α in the heart, inflammation was developed in the sepsis group. The cardiac function was also slightly stimulated by sepsis in the in vivo and ex vivo situations. This was associated with unchanged levels of oxidative stress, but several parameters indicated a lower cardiac production of reactive oxygen species in the septic group. In conclusion, despite the development of inflammation, early sepsis did not increase reactive oxygen species production and did not reduce myocardial function. The depressant effect of TNF- α and IL-1 β on the cardiac function is known to occur at very high concentrations. The influence of low- to moderate-grade inflammation on the myocardial mechanical behavior must thus be revisited. © 2017 French National Institute of Agronomical Research (INRA). Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Physiological Society and the American Physiological Society.

Developing International Collaborations for Early Career Researchers in Psychology

PubMed Central

Flanagan, Julianne C.; Barrett, Emma L.; Crome, Erica; Forbes, Miriam

2015-01-01

International collaboration is becoming increasingly vital as the emphasis on unmet need for mental health across cultures and nations grows. Opportunities exist for early career researchers to engage in international collaboration. However, little information is provided about such opportunities in most current psychology training models. The authors are early career researchers in psychology from U.S. and Australia who have developed a collaborative relationship over the past two years. Our goal is to increase awareness of funding opportunities to support international research and to highlight the benefits and challenges associated with international collaboration based on our experience. PMID:27453624

Funding opportunities for investigators in the early stages of career development.

PubMed

Sumandea, C Amelia; Balke, C William

2009-03-10

Many sources of advice and guidance are available to the early career investigator. Generally, mentors serve as the primary source of information, although program and review officers are the most underutilized resources. This article organizes these opportunities to enable early career investigators to plot a rational trajectory for career success. A list of the major agencies that provide grant support for early career investigators is included. In addition, funding opportunities are organized on the basis of the stage in career development pathway and the type of terminal degree.

Definition of technology development missions for early space station satellite servicing, volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The testbed role of an early manned space station in the context of a satellite servicing evolutionary development and flight demonstration technology plan which results in a satellite servicing operational capability is defined. A satellite servicing technology development mission (a set of missions) to be performed on an early manned space station is conceptually defined.

Reflections on the early development of poxvirus vectors.

PubMed

Moss, Bernard

2013-09-06

Poxvirus expression vectors were described in 1982 and quickly became widely used for vaccine development as well as research in numerous fields. Advantages of the vectors include simple construction, ability to accommodate large amounts of foreign DNA and high expression levels. Numerous poxvirus-based veterinary vaccines are currently in use and many others are in human clinical trials. The early reports of poxvirus vectors paved the way for and stimulated the development of other viral vectors and recombinant DNA vaccines. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Instructional Development for Early Career Academics: An Overview of Impact

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stes, Ann; Van Petegem, Peter

2011-01-01

Background: Over the past decades, the issue of improving teaching in higher education has been seriously addressed. Centres for instructional development, aimed at enhancing teaching, have been set up in many countries. Instructional development for early career academics is perceived to be of particular importance. Given the considerable…

Early-Life Host–Microbiome Interphase: The Key Frontier for Immune Development

PubMed Central

Amenyogbe, Nelly; Kollmann, Tobias R.; Ben-Othman, Rym

2017-01-01

Human existence can be viewed as an “animal in a microbial world.” A healthy interaction of the human host with the microbes in and around us heavily relies on a well-functioning immune system. As development of both the microbiota and the host immune system undergo rapid changes in early life, it is not surprising that even minor alterations during this co-development can have profound consequences. Scrutiny of existing data regarding pre-, peri-, as well as early postnatal modulators of newborn microbiota indeed suggest strong associations with several immune-mediated diseases with onset far beyond the newborn period. We here summarize these data and extract overarching themes. This same effort in turn sets the stage to guide effective countermeasures, such as probiotic administration. The objective of our review is to highlight the interaction of host immune ontogeny with the developing microbiome in early life as a critical window of susceptibility for lifelong disease, as well as to identify the enormous potential to protect and promote lifelong health by specifically targeting this window of opportunity. PMID:28596951

The Early Development of Programmable Machinery.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Martin D.

1985-01-01

Programmable equipment innovations, precursors of today's technology, are examined, including the development of the binary code and feedback control systems, such as temperature sensing devices, interchangeable parts, punched cards carrying instructions, continuous flow oil refining process, assembly lines for mass production, and the…

Integrating health economics into the product development cycle: a case study of absorbable pins for treating hallux valgus.

PubMed

Vallejo-Torres, Laura; Steuten, Lotte; Parkinson, Bonny; Girling, Alan J; Buxton, Martin J

2011-01-01

The probability of reimbursement is a key factor in determining whether to proceed with or abandon a product during its development. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how the methods of iterative Bayesian economic evaluation proposed in the literature can be incorporated into the development process of new medical devices, adapting them to face the relative scarcity of data and time that characterizes the process. A 3-stage economic evaluation was applied: an early phase in which simple methods allow for a quick prioritization of competing products; a mid-stage in which developers synthesize the data into a decision model, identify the parameters for which more information is most valuable, and explore uncertainty; and a late stage, in which all relevant information is synthesized. A retrospective analysis was conducted of the case study of absorbable pins, compared with metallic fixation, in osteotomy to treat hallux valgus. The results from the early analysis suggest absorbable pins to be cost-effective under the beliefs and assumptions applied. The outputs from the models at the mid-stage analyses show the device to be cost-effective with a high probability. Late-stage analysis synthesizes evidence from a randomized controlled trial and informative priors, which are based on previous evidence. It also suggests that absorbable pins are the most cost-effective strategy, although the uncertainty in the model output increased considerably. This example illustrates how the method proposed allows decisions in the product development cycle to be based on the best knowledge that is available at each stage.

MAMMARY GLAND DEVELOPMENT: EARLY LIFE EFFECTS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Mammary Gland Development: Early Life Effects from the Environment

S.E. Fenton. Reproductive Toxicology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory, ORD, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711.

As signs of precocious puberty in girls reach ...

The production of trace gases by photochemistry and lightning in the early atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levine, J. S.; Tennille, G. M.; Towe, K. M.; Khanna, R. K.

1986-01-01

Recent atmospheric calculation suggest that the prebiological atmosphere was most probably composed of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor, resulting from volatile outgassing, as opposed to the older view of a strongly reducing early atmosphere composed of methane, ammonia, and hydrogen. Photochemical calculations indicate that methane would have been readily destroyed via reaction with the hydroxyl radical produced from water vapor and that ammonia would have been readily lost via photolysis and rainout. The rapid loss of methane and ammonia, coupled with the absence of a significant source of these gases, suggest that atmospheric methane and ammonia were very short lived, if they were present at all. An early atmosphere of N2, CO2, and H2O is stable and leads to the chemical production of a number of atmospheric species of biological significance, including oxygen, ozone, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and hydrogen cyanide. Using a photochemical model of the early atmosphere, the chemical productionof these species over a wide range of atmospheric parameters were investigated. These calculations indicate that early atmospheric levels of O3 were significantly below the levels needed to provide UV shielding. The fate of volcanically emitted sulfur species, e.g., sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, was investigated in the early atmosphere to assess their UV shielding properties. The photochemical calculations show that these species were of insufficient levels, due in part to their short photochemical lifetimes, to provide UV shielding.

Digital health for the End TB Strategy: developing priority products and making them work.

PubMed

Falzon, Dennis; Timimi, Hazim; Kurosinski, Pascal; Migliori, Giovanni Battista; Van Gemert, Wayne; Denkinger, Claudia; Isaacs, Chris; Story, Alistair; Garfein, Richard S; do Valle Bastos, Luis Gustavo; Yassin, Mohammed A; Rusovich, Valiantsin; Skrahina, Alena; Van Hoi, Le; Broger, Tobias; Abubakar, Ibrahim; Hayward, Andrew; Thomas, Bruce V; Temesgen, Zelalem; Quraishi, Subhi; von Delft, Dalene; Jaramillo, Ernesto; Weyer, Karin; Raviglione, Mario C

2016-07-01

In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the End TB Strategy in response to a World Health Assembly Resolution requesting Member States to end the worldwide epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) by 2035. For the strategy's objectives to be realised, the next 20 years will need novel solutions to address the challenges posed by TB to health professionals, and to affected people and communities. Information and communication technology presents opportunities for innovative approaches to support TB efforts in patient care, surveillance, programme management and electronic learning. The effective application of digital health products at a large scale and their continued development need the engagement of TB patients and their caregivers, innovators, funders, policy-makers, advocacy groups, and affected communities.In April 2015, WHO established its Global Task Force on Digital Health for TB to advocate and support the development of digital health innovations in global efforts to improve TB care and prevention. We outline the group's approach to stewarding this process in alignment with the three pillars of the End TB Strategy. The supplementary material of this article includes target product profiles, as developed by early 2016, defining nine priority digital health concepts and products that are strategically positioned to enhance TB action at the country level. The content of this work is ©the authors or their employers. Design and branding are ©ERS 2016.

Understanding Emotional Development: Helping Early Childhood Providers Better Support Families

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Nicole Megan

2012-01-01

This article is intended to provide early childhood providers with a concise overview of emerging emotional development in young children (birth-5), the important role of primary caregivers, and the link between parenting, emotional development, and behavior. Specific suggestions that have been shared with urban Head Start mothers are offered,…

Potency assay development for cellular therapy products: an ISCT review of the requirements and experiences in the industry.

PubMed

Bravery, Christopher A; Carmen, Jessica; Fong, Timothy; Oprea, Wanda; Hoogendoorn, Karin H; Woda, Juliana; Burger, Scott R; Rowley, Jon A; Bonyhadi, Mark L; Van't Hof, Wouter

2013-01-01

The evaluation of potency plays a key role in defining the quality of cellular therapy products (CTPs). Potency can be defined as a quantitative measure of relevant biologic function based on the attributes that are linked to relevant biologic properties. To achieve an adequate assessment of CTP potency, appropriate in vitro or in vivo laboratory assays and properly controlled clinical data need to be created. The primary objective of a potency assay is to provide a mechanism by which the manufacturing process and the final product for batch release are scrutinized for quality, consistency and stability. A potency assay also provides the basis for comparability assessment after process changes, such as scale-up, site transfer and new starting materials (e.g., a new donor). Potency assays should be in place for early clinical development, and validated assays are required for pivotal clinical trials. Potency is based on the individual characteristics of each individual CTP, and the adequacy of potency assays will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by regulatory agencies. We provide an overview of the expectations and challenges in development of potency assays specific for CTPs; several real-life experiences from the cellular therapy industry are presented as illustrations. The key observation and message is that aggressive early investment in a solid potency evaluation strategy can greatly enhance eventual CTP deployment because it can mitigate the risk of costly product failure in late-stage development. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Embedded Professional Development and Classroom-Based Early Reading Intervention: Early Diagnostic Reading Intervention through Coaching

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amendum, Steven J.

2014-01-01

The purpose of the current mixed-methods study was to investigate a model of professional development and classroom-based early reading intervention implemented by the 1st-grade teaching team in a large urban/suburban school district in the southeastern United States. The intervention provided teachers with ongoing embedded professional…

Long-Term Trajectories of the Development of Speech Sound Production in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients

PubMed Central

Tomblin, J. Bruce; Peng, Shu-Chen; Spencer, Linda J.; Lu, Nelson

2011-01-01

Purpose This study characterized the development of speech sound production in prelingually deaf children with a minimum of 8 years of cochlear implant (CI) experience. Method Twenty-seven pediatric CI recipients' spontaneous speech samples from annual evaluation sessions were phonemically transcribed. Accuracy for these speech samples was evaluated in piecewise regression models. Results As a group, pediatric CI recipients showed steady improvement in speech sound production following implantation, but the improvement rate declined after 6 years of device experience. Piecewise regression models indicated that the slope estimating the participants' improvement rate was statistically greater than 0 during the first 6 years postimplantation, but not after 6 years. The group of pediatric CI recipients' accuracy of speech sound production after 4 years of device experience reasonably predicts their speech sound production after 5–10 years of device experience. Conclusions The development of speech sound production in prelingually deaf children stabilizes after 6 years of device experience, and typically approaches a plateau by 8 years of device use. Early growth in speech before 4 years of device experience did not predict later rates of growth or levels of achievement. However, good predictions could be made after 4 years of device use. PMID:18695018

Integrating Early Child Development and Violence Prevention Programs: A Systematic Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Efevbera, Yvette; McCoy, Dana C.; Wuermli, Alice J.; Betancourt, Theresa S.

2018-01-01

Limited evidence describes promoting development and reducing violence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), a missed opportunity to protect children and promote development and human capital. This study presents a systematic literature review of integrated early childhood development plus violence prevention (ECD+VP) interventions in…

The chlorinated AHR ligand 3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB126) promotes reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during embryonic development in the killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arzuaga, Xabier; Wassenberg, Deena; Giulio, Richard D.; Elskus, Adria

2006-01-01

Exposure to dioxin-like chemicals that activate the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) can result in increased cellular and tissue production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Little is known of these effects during early fish development. We used the fish model, Fundulus heteroclitus, to determine if the AHR ligand and pro-oxidant 3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB126) can increase ROS production during killifish development, and to test a novel method for measuring ROS non-invasively in a living organism. The superoxide-sensitive fluorescent dye, dihydroethidium (DHE), was used to detect in ovo ROS production microscopically in developing killifish exposed to PCB126 or vehicle. Both in ovo CYP1A activity (ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase, EROD) and in ovo ROS were induced by PCB126. In ovo CYP1A activity was inducible by PCB126 concentrations as low as 0.003 nM, with maximal induction occurring at 0.3 nM PCB126. These PCB126 concentrations also significantly increased in ovo ROS production in embryonic liver, ROS being detectable as early as 5 days post-fertilization. These data demonstrate that the pro-oxidant and CYP1A inducer, PCB126, increases both CYP1A activity and ROS production in developing killifish embryos. The superoxide detection assay (SoDA) described in this paper provides a semi-quantitative, easily measured, early indicator of altered ROS production that can be used in conjunction with simultaneous in ovo measurements of CYP1A activity and embryo development to explore functional relationships among biochemical, physiological and developmental responses to AHR ligands.

Dual effects of fluoxetine on mouse early embryonic development.

PubMed

Kim, Chang-Woon; Choe, Changyong; Kim, Eun-Jin; Lee, Jae-Ik; Yoon, Sook-Young; Cho, Young-Woo; Han, Sunkyu; Tak, Hyun-Min; Han, Jaehee; Kang, Dawon

2012-11-15

Fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, regulates a variety of physiological processes, such as cell proliferation and apoptosis, in mammalian cells. Little is known about the role of fluoxetine in early embryonic development. This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of fluoxetine during mouse early embryonic development. Late two-cell stage embryos (2-cells) were cultured in the presence of various concentrations of fluoxetine (1 to 50μM) for different durations. When late 2-cells were incubated with 5μM fluoxetine for 6h, the percentage that developed into blastocysts increased compared to the control value. However, late 2-cells exposed to fluoxetine (5μM) over 24h showed a reduction in blastocyst formation. The addition of fluoxetine (5μM) together with KN93 or KN62 (calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) inhibitors) failed to increase blastocyst formation. Fluoxetine treatment inhibited TREK-1 and TREK-2, members of the two-pore domain K(+) channel family expressed in mouse embryos, activities, indicating that fluoxetine-induced membrane depolarization in late 2-cells might have resulted from TREK inhibition. In addition, long-term exposure to fluoxetine altered the TREK mRNA expression levels. Furthermore, injection of siRNA targeting TREKs significantly decreased blastocyst formation by ~30% compared to injection of scrambled siRNA. Long-term exposure of fluoxetine had no effect on blastocyst formation of TREK deficient embryos. These results indicate that low-dose and short-term exposures of late 2-cells to fluoxetine probably increase blastocyst formation through activation of CaMKII-dependent signal transduction pathways, whereas long-term exposure decreases mouse early embryonic development through inhibition of TREK channel gating. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Implementation of Early Childhood Development Education Service Standard Guidelines on Physical Facilities in Public and Private Early Childhood Education Centres Kakamega County, Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sitati, Emmily M.; Ndirangu, Mwangi; Kennedy, Bota; Rapongo, George S.

2016-01-01

In 2006, the Kenyan Ministry of Education (MoE) developed an early childhood development education (ECDE) service standard guidelines to guide the ECDE stakeholders in provision of early childhood education (ECE) programmes. The study sought to investigate the implementation of the ECDE service standard guidelines on provision of physical…

Early development in males with Fragile X syndrome: a review of the literature.

PubMed

Kau, Alice S M; Meyer, Walter A; Kaufmann, Walter E

2002-05-01

This article reviews the current bibliographic knowledge on early neurobehavioral development and milestones in Fragile X syndrome (FraX), with emphasis on males affected by the condition. Three broad areas of early development were examined: (1) gross and fine motor, (2) speech and language, and (3) social. The result of the current review indicates very limited information on the developmental milestones in all three areas. The scarce literature on motor development shows that in FraX there is an early developmental delay. Research on speech and language demonstrates pervasive deficits in conversational skills and severe developmental delay, with increasing discrepancy between language level and chronological age in young males with FraX. Finally, deficits in social development in FraX include abnormal gaze, approach and avoidance conflict, and high incidence of autistic spectrum disorders. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Regulation of bone morphogenetic proteins in early embryonic development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Yukiyo; Oelgeschläger, Michael

2004-11-01

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), a large subgroup of the TGF-β family of secreted growth factors, control fundamental events in early embryonic development, organogenesis and adult tissue homeostasis. The plethora of dose-dependent cellular processes regulated by BMP signalling demand a tight regulation of BMP activity. Over the last decade, a number of proteins have been identified that bind BMPs in the extracellular space and regulate the interaction of BMPs with their cognate receptors, including the secreted BMP antagonist Chordin. In the early vertebrate embryo, the localized secretion of BMP antagonists from the dorsal blastopore lip establishes a functional BMP signalling gradient that is required for the determination of the dorsoventral or back to belly body axis. In particular, inhibition of BMP activity is essential for the formation of neural tissue in the development of vertebrate and invertebrate embryos. Here we review recent studies that have provided new insight into the regulation of BMP signalling in the extracellular space. In particular, we discuss the recently identified Twisted gastrulation protein that modulates, in concert with metalloproteinases of the Tolloid family, the interaction of Chordin with BMP and a family of proteins that share structural similarities with Chordin in the respective BMP binding domains. In addition, genetic and functional studies in zebrafish and frog provide compelling evidence that the secreted protein Sizzled functionally interacts with the Chd BMP pathway, despite being expressed ventrally in the early gastrula-stage embryo. These intriguing discoveries may have important implications, not only for our current concept of early embryonic patterning, but also for the regulation of BMP activity at later developmental stages and tissue homeostasis in the adult.

Professional development session for early career scientists at SITC 2012

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2012 Professional Development Session was held as part of the SITC 27th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, on October 24, 2012. The session was designed as a new opportunity for early career investigators to learn about relevant career development topics in a didactic setting. PMID:25742323

Early-stage aeolian protodune development and migration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nield, J. M.; Baddock, M. C.; Wiggs, G.

2017-12-01

Early-stage bedforms, or protodunes, can be observed to form on sandy beaches, desert gravels or superimposed on the surfaces of larger dunes and can develop topography of 0.1 m or more over several hours. These protodunes are the precursors to embryo and eventually mature dunes, and so it is important to understand how feedbacks between flow, transport and form contribute to this development sequence. Whilst theory and conceptual models have offered some explanation for protodune existence and development, we know surprisingly little about how these bedforms initiate and migrate because it is difficult to measure small changes in form (millimetres; seconds) on highly active surfaces of limited topographic expression. Here, we employ terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to measure morphological change at the high frequency and spatial resolution (sub-millimetre) required to gain new insights into protodune behaviour. Along with TLS derived saltation and surface moisture, additional sediment flux and windspeed measurements help to elucidate how the protodune topography interacts with airflow and sand transport. We focus on a number of coastal bedforms in various development stages including a 0.06 m high protodune which grew vertically by 0.005 m in two hours with the switch from erosion to deposition identified to occur at a point 0.07 m upwind of the crest. This growth was associated with a reduction in time-averaged sediment flux of 18% over the crestal region. We also observed a decline in lower stoss slope steepness (by 3°) and a steepening of the lee slope, indicating a reshaping of initial protodune form towards the morphology of a more mature dune. Our findings highlight the crucial role of form-flow feedbacks, even on very small bedforms, in driving early-stage bedform growth and development, and show how the use of high resolution TLS to measure both surface topography and grains moving above the surface, can offer new insights into a long standing deficiency

Early adversity and learning: implications for typical and atypical behavioral development.

PubMed

Hanson, Jamie L; van den Bos, Wouter; Roeber, Barbara J; Rudolph, Karen D; Davidson, Richard J; Pollak, Seth D

2017-07-01

Children who experience early adversity often develop emotion regulatory problems, but little is known about the mechanisms that mediate this relation. We tested whether general associative learning processes contribute to associations between adversity, in the form of child maltreatment, and negative behavioral outcomes. Eighty-one participants between 12 and 17 years of age were recruited for this study and completed a probabilistic learning Task. Forty-one of these participants had been exposed to physical abuse, a form of early adversity. Forty additional participants without any known history of maltreatment served as a comparison group. All participants (and their parents) also completed portions of the Youth Life Stress Interview to understand adolescent's behavior. We calculated measures of associative learning, and also constructed mathematical models of learning. We found that adolescents exposed to high levels of adversity early in their lives had lower levels of associative learning than comparison adolescents. In addition, we found that impaired associative learning partially explained the higher levels of behavioral problems among youth who suffered early adversity. Using mathematical models, we also found that two components of learning were specifically affected in children exposed to adversity: choice variability and biases in their beliefs about the likelihood of rewards in the environment. Participants who had been exposed to early adversity were less able than their peers to correctly learn which stimuli were likely to result in reward, even after repeated feedback. These individuals also used information about known rewards in their environments less often. In addition, individuals exposed to adversity made decisions early in the learning process as if rewards were less consistent and occurred more at random. These data suggest one mechanism through which early life experience shapes behavioral development. © 2017 Association for Child and

Early adversity and learning: implications for typical and atypical behavioral development

PubMed Central

Hanson, Jamie L.; van den Bos, Wouter; Roeber, Barbara J.; Rudolph, Karen D.; Davidson, Richard J.; Pollak, Seth D.

2017-01-01

Background Children who experience early adversity often develop emotion regulatory problems, but little is known about the mechanisms that mediate this relation. We tested whether general associative learning processes contribute to associations between adversity, in the form of child maltreatment, and negative behavioral outcomes. Methods Eighty-one participants between 12 and 17 years of age were recruited for this study and completed a probabilistic learning Task. Forty-one of these participants had been exposed to physical abuse, a form of early adversity. Forty additional participants without any known history of maltreatment served as a comparison group. All participants (and their parents) also completed portions of the Youth Life Stress Interview to understand adolescent’s behavior. We calculated measures of associative learning, and also constructed mathematical models of learning. Results We found that adolescents exposed to high levels of adversity early in their lives had lower levels of associative learning than comparison adolescents. In addition, we found that impaired associative learning partially explained the higher levels of behavioral problems among youth who suffered early adversity. Using mathematical models, we also found that two components of learning were specifically affected in children exposed to adversity: choice variability and biases in their beliefs about the likelihood of rewards in the environment. Conclusions Participants who had been exposed to early adversity were less able than their peers to correctly learn which stimuli were likely to result in reward, even after repeated feedback. These individuals also used information about known rewards in their environments less often. In addition, individuals exposed to adversity made decisions early in the learning process as if rewards were less consistent and occurred more at random. These data suggest one mechanism through which early life experience shapes behavioral

Brain Development and Early Learning: Research on Brain Development. Quality Matters. Volume 1, Winter 2007

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edie, David; Schmid, Deborah

2007-01-01

For decades researchers have been aware of the extraordinary development of a child's brain during the first five years of life. Recent advances in neuroscience have helped crystallize earlier findings, bringing new clarity and understanding to the field of early childhood brain development. Children are born ready to learn. They cultivate 85…

Early mathematics development and later achievement: Further evidence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aubrey, Carol; Godfrey, Ray; Dahl, Sarah

2006-05-01

There is a growing international recognition of the importance of the early years of schooling as well as an interest being shown in the relationship of early education to later achievement. This article focuses on a cohort of English pupils who have been tracked through primary school during the first five years of the new National Numeracy Strategy. It reports a limited longitudinal study of young children's early mathematical development, initially within three testing cycles: at the mid-point and towards the end of their reception year (at five years-of-age) and again at the mid-point of Year 1 (at six years-ofage). These cycles were located within the broader context of progress through to the end of Key Stage 1 (at seven years) and Key Stage 2 (at eleven years) on the basis of national standardised assessment tests (SATs). Results showed that children who bring into school early mathematical knowledge do appear to be advantaged in terms of their mathematical progress through primary school. Numerical attainment increases in importance across the primary years and practical problem solving remains an important element of this. This finding is significant given the current emphasis on numerical calculation in the English curriculum. It is concluded that without active intervention, it is likely that children with little mathematical knowledge at the beginning of formal schooling will remain low achievers throughout their primary years and, probably, beyond.

Product development cycle time reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farran, Robin

1992-05-01

We are facing here today the key issues that face us in the competitive environment. North American companies are struggling to compete in the global marketplace. Gone are the days when presence ensured success. Then, sales and earnings were guaranteed. Today the competition is intense. Many manufacturing and service companies are no longer competitive. Traditionally, manufacturing companies have created the most wealth for the community and economy. Losing this ability to create wealth is tragic and unnecessary. A company can only be successful by focusing on customer satisfaction at competitive costs. Revenue growth and earnings growth require a continuous stream of products that anticipate the customers' needs, result from shorter and shorter innovation cycles, continually improve in quality, and are produced at improved costs on each cycle. The best opportunities for increased quality and decreased costs are with new products. Sure, work on quality and costs everyday. The biggest changes, however, will come through the new product development cycle. We must improve our development processes to provide leadership products which result in high levels of customer satisfaction. This is a prerequisite for business success. When presence in the marketplace was a virtual guarantee of success for a North American company, technology tended to drive the products, and the customers bought virtually everything that was produced. Functional excellence was stressed within companies ... and that was enough. Effective planning processes were not a prerequisite for success. Today success demands highly developed business research and planning processes, and functional excellence combined with organizational capabilities that ensure commercialization excellence.

IL-17 Production of Neutrophils Enhances Antibacteria Ability but Promotes Arthritis Development During Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection.

PubMed

Hu, Shengfeng; He, Wenting; Du, Xialin; Yang, Jiahui; Wen, Qian; Zhong, Xiao-Ping; Ma, Li

2017-09-01

To our knowledge, no studies have examined the role of IL-17 production by neutrophils in immune defense against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection and the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) caused by MTB infection. Here, we determined that neutrophils express IL-17 in an autocrine IL-6- and IL-23-dependent manner during MTB infection. MTB H37Rv-induced IL-6 production was dependent on the NF-κB, p38, and JNK signaling pathways; however, IL-23 production was dependent on NF-κB and EKR in neutrophils. Furthermore, we found that Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 mediated the activation of the kinases NF-κB, p38, ERK, and JNK and the production of IL-6, IL-23, and IL-17 in neutrophils infected with MTB H37Rv. Autocrine IL-17 produced by neutrophils played a vital role in inhibiting MTB H37Rv growth by mediating reactive oxygen species production and the migration of neutrophils in the early stages of infection. However, IL-17 production by neutrophils contributed to collagen-induced arthritis development during MTB infection. Our findings identify a protective mechanism against mycobacteria and the pathogenic role of MTB in arthritis development. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Quantitative Acetylomic Analysis of Early Seed Development in Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

PubMed

Wang, Yifeng; Hou, Yuxuan; Qiu, Jiehua; Li, Zhiyong; Zhao, Juan; Tong, Xiaohong; Zhang, Jian

2017-06-27

PKA (protein lysine acetylation) is a critical post-translational modification that regulates various developmental processes, including seed development. However, the acetylation events and dynamics on a proteomic scale in this process remain largely unknown, especially in rice early seed development. We report the first quantitative acetylproteomic study focused on rice early seed development by employing a mass spectral-based (MS-based), label-free approach. A total of 1817 acetylsites on 1688 acetylpeptides from 972 acetylproteins were identified in pistils and seeds at three and seven days after pollination, including 268 acetyproteins differentially acetylated among the three stages. Motif-X analysis revealed that six significantly enriched motifs, such as (DxkK), (kH) and (kY) around the acetylsites of the identified rice seed acetylproteins. Differentially acetylated proteins among the three stages, including adenosine diphosphate (ADP) -glucose pyrophosphorylases (AGPs), PDIL1-1 (protein disulfide isomerase like 1-1), hexokinases, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) and numerous other regulators that are extensively involved in the starch and sucrose metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and photosynthesis pathways during early seed development. This study greatly expanded the rice acetylome dataset, and shed novel insight into the regulatory roles of PKA in rice early seed development.

Media representations of early human development: protecting, feeding and loving the developing brain.

PubMed

O'Connor, Cliodhna; Joffe, Helene

2013-11-01

The public profile of neurodevelopmental research has expanded in recent years. This paper applies social representations theory to explore how early brain development was represented in the UK print media in the first decade of the 21st century. A thematic analysis was performed on 505 newspaper articles published between 2000 and 2010 that discussed early brain development. Media coverage centred around concern with 'protecting' the prenatal brain (identifying threats to foetal neurodevelopment), 'feeding' the infant brain (indicating the patterns of nutrition that enhance brain development) and 'loving' the young child's brain (elucidating the developmental significance of emotionally nurturing family environments). The media focused almost exclusively on the role of parental action in promoting optimal neurodevelopment, rarely acknowledging wider structural, cultural or political means of supporting child development. The significance of parental care was intensified by deterministic interpretations of critical periods, which implied that inappropriate parental input would produce profound and enduring neurobiological impairments. Neurodevelopmental research was also used to promulgate normative judgements concerning the acceptability of certain gender roles and family contexts. The paper argues that media representations of neurodevelopment stress parental responsibility for shaping a child's future while relegating the contributions of genetic or wider societal factors, and examines the consequences of these representations for society and family life. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Critical Interactions Shaping Early Academic Career Development in Two Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hemmings, Brian; Hill, Doug; Sharp, John G.

2013-01-01

This study was aimed at identifying the critical interactions within work environments that support the development of early career academics as researchers in institutions with lower order research profiles, that is, environments that differ from research-intensive universities. Ten early career academics, five from Australia and five from the…

Early Intervention Practices for Children with Hearing Loss: Impact of Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin-Prudent, Angi; Lartz, Maribeth; Borders, Christina; Meehan, Tracy

2016-01-01

Early identification and appropriate intervention services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing significantly increase the likelihood of better language, speech, and social-emotional development. However, current research suggests that there is a critical shortage of professionals trained to provide early intervention services to deaf and…

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention in Developing Countries: Current Status and Prospects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olusanya, Bolajoko O.

2006-01-01

Infant hearing screening is emerging rapidly as a silent global revolution for the early detection of children with congenital or early onset hearing loss to ensure timely enrollment in family-oriented intervention programs for the development of spoken language. This article examines the overriding and interrelated scientific, ethical and…

21 CFR 814.19 - Product development protocol (PDP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Product development protocol (PDP). 814.19 Section...) MEDICAL DEVICES PREMARKET APPROVAL OF MEDICAL DEVICES General § 814.19 Product development protocol (PDP). A class III device for which a product development protocol has been declared completed by FDA under...

21 CFR 814.19 - Product development protocol (PDP).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Product development protocol (PDP). 814.19 Section...) MEDICAL DEVICES PREMARKET APPROVAL OF MEDICAL DEVICES General § 814.19 Product development protocol (PDP). A class III device for which a product development protocol has been declared completed by FDA under...

Black Female Faculty Success and Early Career Professional Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Tamara Bertrand; Osborne-Lampkin, La'Tara

2013-01-01

In recent years, a number of Black female junior scholars have participated in an early career professional development program designed to address socialization issues through individual and small group mentoring. This descriptive qualitative study investigated scholars' perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of a research…

Stage-dependent remodeling of the nuclear envelope and lamina during rabbit early embryonic development.

PubMed

Popken, Jens; Schmid, Volker J; Strauss, Axel; Guengoer, Tuna; Wolf, Eckhard; Zakhartchenko, Valeri

2016-04-22

Utilizing 3D structured illumination microscopy, we investigated the quality and quantity of nuclear invaginations and the distribution of nuclear pores during rabbit early embryonic development and identified the exact time point of nucleoporin 153 (NUP153) association with chromatin during mitosis. Contrary to bovine early embryonic nuclei, featuring almost exclusively nuclear invaginations containing a small volume of cytoplasm, nuclei in rabbit early embryonic stages show additionally numerous invaginations containing a large volume of cytoplasm. Small-volume invaginations frequently emanated from large-volume nuclear invaginations but not vice versa, indicating a different underlying mechanism. Large- and small-volume nuclear envelope invaginations required the presence of chromatin, as they were restricted to chromatin-positive areas. The chromatin-free contact areas between nucleolar precursor bodies (NPBs) and large-volume invaginations were free of nuclear pores. Small-volume invaginations were not in contact with NPBs. The number of invaginations and isolated intranuclear vesicles per nucleus peaked at the 4-cell stage. At this stage, the nuclear surface showed highly concentrated clusters of nuclear pores surrounded by areas free of nuclear pores. Isolated intranuclear lamina vesicles were usually NUP153 negative. Cytoplasmic, randomly distributed NUP153-positive clusters were highly abundant at the zygote stage and decreased in number until they were almost absent at the 8-cell stage and later. These large NUP153 clusters may represent a maternally provided NUP153 deposit, but they were not visible as clusters during mitosis. Major genome activation at the 8- to 16-cell stage may mark the switch from a necessity for a deposit to on-demand production. NUP153 association with chromatin is initiated during metaphase before the initiation of the regeneration of the lamina. To our knowledge, the present study demonstrates for the first time major remodeling

An Update on Experimental Climate Prediction and Analysis Products Being Developed at NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schubert, Siegfried

2011-01-01

The Global Modeling and Assimilation Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is developing a number of experimental prediction and analysis products suitable for research and applications. The prediction products include a large suite of subseasonal and seasonal hindcasts and forecasts (as a contribution to the US National MME), a suite of decadal (10-year) hindcasts (as a contribution to the IPCC decadal prediction project), and a series of large ensemble and high resolution simulations of selected extreme events, including the 2010 Russian and 2011 US heat waves. The analysis products include an experimental atlas of climate (in particular drought) and weather extremes. This talk will provide an update on those activities, and discuss recent efforts by WCRP to leverage off these and similar efforts at other institutions throughout the world to develop an experimental global drought early warning system.

Interkingdom cooperation between Candida albicans, Streptococcus oralis and Actinomyces oris modulates early biofilm development on denture material.

PubMed

Cavalcanti, Indira M G; Nobbs, Angela H; Ricomini-Filho, Antônio Pedro; Jenkinson, Howard F; Del Bel Cury, Altair A

2016-04-01

Candida-associated stomatitis affects up to 60% of denture wearers, and Candida albicans remains the most commonly isolated fungal species. The oral bacteria Actinomyces oris and Streptococcus oralis are abundant in early dental plaque. The aims of this study were to determine the effects of S. oralis and A. oris on the development of C. albicans biofilms on denture material. Resin discs were coated with saliva and at early (1.5 h) or later (24 h) stages of biofilm development, cell numbers of each species were determined. Spatial distribution of microorganisms was visualized by confocal scanning laser microscopy of biofilms labelled by differential fluorescence or by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Interkingdom interactions underpinning biofilm development were also evaluated planktonically utilizing fluorescence microscopy. Synergistic interactions between all three species occurred within biofilms and planktonically. Bacterial cells coaggregated with each other and adhered singly or in coaggregates to C. albicans hyphal filaments. Streptococcus oralis appeared to enhance hyphal filament production and C. albicans biovolume was increased 2-fold. Concomitantly, cell numbers of S. oralis and A. oris were enhanced by C. albicans. Thus, cooperative physical and metabolic processes occurring between these three microbial species intensify pathogenic plaque communities on denture surfaces. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Guidelines for Successful Use and Communication of Instrument Heritage in Early Mission Development with a Focus on Spectrometers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baker, Elizabeth E.

2012-01-01

Heritage is important for both cost and risk related issues and as such, it is heavily discussed in NASA proposal evaluations. If used and communicated efficiently, heritage can lower both the perception of risk and the associated costs. Definitions of heritage vary between engineering, cost, and scientific communities, but when applied appropriately, heritage provides a benefit to the proposed mission. By making an instrument at least once before, the cost of producing it again can be reduced. The time and effort needed to develop the instrument concept and test the product represent an expense that can be lowered through the use of a previously built and developed instrument. This same thought can be applied when using a flight spare or build-to-print model of the heritage instrument. The lowered perception of risk is a result of the confidence gained in the instrument through successful use in the target environment. This is extremely important in early mission development to the evaluation board. This analysis will use JPL-managed proposals from 2003 to 2011, including Discovery, New Frontiers, and Mars Scout missions. Through the examination of these proposals and their associated debriefs, a set of guidelines have been created for successful use and communication of instrument heritage in early mission development

Early development of Xenopus embryos is affected by simulated gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yokota, Hiroki; Neff, Anton W.; Malacinski, George M.

1994-01-01

Early amphibian (Xenopus laevis) development under clinostat-simulated weightlessness and centrifuge-simulated hypergravity was studied. The results revealed significant effects on (i) 'morphological patterning' such as the cleavage furrow pattern in the vegetal hemisphere at the eight-cell stage and the shape of the dorsal lip in early gastrulae and (ii) 'the timing of embryonic events' such as the third cleavage furrow completion and the dorsal lip appearance. Substantial variations in sensitivity to simulated force fields were observed, which should be considered in interpreting spaceflight data.

Preschoolers Know, but How Do They Know? Developing a Framework for Early Epistemology Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winsor, Denise L.; Blake, Sally

2009-01-01

Two areas that are lacking for the purpose of training high-quality preschool teachers; and constructing developmentally appropriate learning standards and curriculum for preschool children are awareness of early epistemic development (beliefs about knowledge and knowing) and understanding preschoolers' cognitive processes during epistemic…

A comparative analysis of early child health and development services and outcomes in countries with different redistributive policies

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The social environment is a fundamental determinant of early child development and, in turn, early child development is a determinant of health, well-being, and learning skills across the life course. Redistributive policies aimed at reducing social inequalities, such as a welfare state and labour market policies, have shown a positive association with selected health indicators. In this study, we investigated the influence of redistributive policies specifically on the social environment of early child development in five countries with different political traditions. The objective of this analysis was to highlight similarities and differences in social and health services between the countries and their associations with other health outcomes that can inform better global early child development policies and improve early child health and development. Methods Four social determinants of early child development were selected to provide a cross-section of key time periods in a child’s life from prenatal to kindergarten. They included: 1) prenatal care, 2) maternal leave, 3) child health care, and 4) child care and early childhood education. We searched international databases and reports (e.g. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, World Bank, and UNICEF) to obtain information about early child development policies, services and outcomes. Results Although a comparative analysis cannot claim causation, our analysis suggests that redistributive policies aimed at reducing social inequalities are associated with a positive influence on the social determinants of early child development. Generous redistributive policies are associated with a higher maternal leave allowance and pay and more preventive child healthcare visits. A decreasing trend in infant mortality, low birth weight rate, and under five mortality rate were observed with an increase in redistributive policies. No clear influence of redistributive policies was observed on

A comparative analysis of early child health and development services and outcomes in countries with different redistributive policies.

PubMed

van den Heuvel, Meta; Hopkins, Jessica; Biscaro, Anne; Srikanthan, Cinntha; Feller, Andrea; Bremberg, Sven; Verkuijl, Nienke; Flapper, Boudien; Ford-Jones, Elizabeth Lee; Williams, Robin

2013-11-06

The social environment is a fundamental determinant of early child development and, in turn, early child development is a determinant of health, well-being, and learning skills across the life course. Redistributive policies aimed at reducing social inequalities, such as a welfare state and labour market policies, have shown a positive association with selected health indicators. In this study, we investigated the influence of redistributive policies specifically on the social environment of early child development in five countries with different political traditions. The objective of this analysis was to highlight similarities and differences in social and health services between the countries and their associations with other health outcomes that can inform better global early child development policies and improve early child health and development. Four social determinants of early child development were selected to provide a cross-section of key time periods in a child's life from prenatal to kindergarten. They included: 1) prenatal care, 2) maternal leave, 3) child health care, and 4) child care and early childhood education. We searched international databases and reports (e.g. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, World Bank, and UNICEF) to obtain information about early child development policies, services and outcomes. Although a comparative analysis cannot claim causation, our analysis suggests that redistributive policies aimed at reducing social inequalities are associated with a positive influence on the social determinants of early child development. Generous redistributive policies are associated with a higher maternal leave allowance and pay and more preventive child healthcare visits. A decreasing trend in infant mortality, low birth weight rate, and under five mortality rate were observed with an increase in redistributive policies. No clear influence of redistributive policies was observed on breastfeeding and immunization

Perceptions and Attitudes of Early Childhood Teachers in Korea about Education for Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Park, Eunhye; Kim, Heejin; Yu, Sunyoung

2016-01-01

This study investigates the perceptions and attitudes of Korean early childhood teachers about education for sustainable development (ESD). A total of 301 Korean early childhood teachers participated in a survey which was purposefully developed for this research. The survey focused on three areas of interest: understanding of concepts about…

APECS: A Network for Polar Early Career Scientist Professional Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Enderlin, E. M.

2014-12-01

The Association of Polar Early Career Researchers (APECS) is an international and interdisciplinary organization for undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, early faculty members, educators and others with interests in the polar regions, alpine regions and the wider Cryosphere. APECS is a scientific, non-profit organization with free individual membership that aims to stimulate research collaborations and develop effective future leaders in polar research, education, and outreach. APECS grew out of the 4th International Polar Year (2007-08), which emphasized the need to stimulate and nurture the next generation of scientists in order to improve the understanding and communication of the polar regions and its global connections. The APECS organizational structure includes a Council and an elected Executive Committee that are supported by a Directorate. These positions are open to all individual members through a democratic process. The APECS Directorate is funded by the Norwegian Research Council, the University of Tromsø and the Norwegian Polar Institute and is hosted by the University of Tromsø. Early career scientists benefit from a range of activities hosted/organized by APECS. Every year, numerous activities are run with partner organizations and in conjunction with major polar conferences and meetings. In-person and online panels and workshops focus on a range of topics, from developing field skills to applying for a job after graduate school. Career development webinars are hosted each fall and topical research webinars are hosted throughout the year and archived online (http://www.apecs.is). The APECS website also contains abundant information on polar news, upcoming conferences and meetings, and job postings for early career scientists. To better respond to members' needs, APECS has national/regional committees that are linked to the international overarching organization. Many of these committees organize regional meetings or

Exploring Parental Involvement in Early Years Education in China: Development and Validation of the Chinese Early Parental Involvement Scale (CEPIS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lau, Eva Yi Hung; Li, Hui; Rao, Nirmala

2012-01-01

This study developed and validated an instrument, the Chinese Early Parental Involvement Scale (CEPIS), that can be widely used in both local and international contexts to assess Chinese parental involvement in early childhood education. The study was carried out in two stages: (1) focus group interviews were conducted with 41 teachers and 35…

Early-stage valuation of medical devices: the role of developmental uncertainty.

PubMed

Girling, Alan; Young, Terry; Brown, Celia; Lilford, Richard

2010-08-01

At the concept stage, many uncertainties surround the commercial viability of a new medical device. These include the ultimate functionality of the device, the cost of producing it and whether, and at what price, it can be sold to a health-care provider (HCP). Simple assessments of value can be made by estimating such unknowns, but the levels of uncertainty may mean that their operational value for investment decisions is unclear. However, many decisions taken at the concept stage are reversible and will be reconsidered later before the product is brought to market. This flexibility can be exploited to enhance early-stage valuations. To develop a framework for valuing a new medical device at the concept stage that balances benefit to the HCP against commercial costs. This is done within a simplified stage-gated model of the development cycle for new products. The approach is intended to complement existing proposals for the evaluation of the commercial headroom available to new medical products. A model based on two decision gates can lead to lower bounds (underestimates) for product value that can serve to support a decision to develop the product. Quantifiable uncertainty that can be resolved before the device is brought to market will generally enhance early-stage valuations of the device, and this remains true even when some components of uncertainty cannot be fully described. Clinical trials and other evidence-gathering activities undertaken as part of the development process can contribute to early-stage estimates of value.

Short National Early Warning Score - Developing a Modified Early Warning Score.

PubMed

Luís, Leandro; Nunes, Carla

2017-12-11

Early Warning Score (EWS) systems have been developed for detecting hospital patients clinical deterioration. Many studies show that a National Early Warning Score (NEWS) performs well in discriminating survival from death in acute medical and surgical hospital wards. NEWS is validated for Portugal and is available for use. A simpler EWS system may help to reduce the risk of error, as well as increase clinician compliance with the tool. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether a simplified NEWS model will improve use and data collection. We evaluated the ability of single and aggregated parameters from the NEWS model to detect patients' clinical deterioration in the 24h prior to an outcome. There were 2 possible outcomes: Survival vs Unanticipated intensive care unit admission or death. We used binary logistic regression models and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves (ROC) to evaluate the parameters' performance in discriminating among the outcomes for a sample of patients from 6 Portuguese hospital wards. NEWS presented an excellent discriminating capability (Area under the Curve of ROC (AUCROC)=0.944). Temperature and systolic blood pressure (SBP) parameters did not contribute significantly to the model. We developed two different models, one without temperature, and the other by removing temperature and SBP (M2). Both models had an excellent discriminating capability (AUCROC: 0.965; 0.903, respectively) and a good predictive power in the optimum threshold of the ROC curve. The 3 models revealed similar discriminant capabilities. Although the use of SBP is not clearly evident in the identification of clinical deterioration, it is recognized as an important vital sign. We recommend the use of the first new model, as its simplicity may help to improve adherence and use by health care workers. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early somatosensory processing in individuals at risk for developing psychoses.

PubMed

Hagenmuller, Florence; Heekeren, Karsten; Theodoridou, Anastasia; Walitza, Susanne; Haker, Helene; Rössler, Wulf; Kawohl, Wolfram

2014-01-01

Human cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) allow an accurate investigation of thalamocortical and early cortical processing. SEPs reveal a burst of superimposed early (N20) high-frequency oscillations around 600 Hz. Previous studies reported alterations of SEPs in patients with schizophrenia. This study addresses the question whether those alterations are also observable in populations at risk for developing schizophrenia or bipolar disorders. To our knowledge to date, this is the first study investigating SEPs in a population at risk for developing psychoses. Median nerve SEPs were investigated using multichannel EEG in individuals at risk for developing bipolar disorders (n = 25), individuals with high-risk status (n = 59) and ultra-high-risk status for schizophrenia (n = 73) and a gender and age-matched control group (n = 45). Strengths and latencies of low- and high-frequency components as estimated by dipole source analysis were compared between groups. Low- and high-frequency source activity was reduced in both groups at risk for schizophrenia, in comparison to the group at risk for bipolar disorders. HFO amplitudes were also significant reduced in subjects with high-risk status for schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. These differences were accentuated among cannabis non-users. Reduced N20 source strengths were related to higher positive symptom load. These results suggest that the risk for schizophrenia, in contrast to bipolar disorders, may involve an impairment of early cerebral somatosensory processing. Neurophysiologic alterations in schizophrenia precede the onset of initial psychotic episode and may serve as indicator of vulnerability for developing schizophrenia.

Early somatosensory processing in individuals at risk for developing psychoses

PubMed Central

Hagenmuller, Florence; Heekeren, Karsten; Theodoridou, Anastasia; Walitza, Susanne; Haker, Helene; Rössler, Wulf; Kawohl, Wolfram

2014-01-01

Human cortical somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) allow an accurate investigation of thalamocortical and early cortical processing. SEPs reveal a burst of superimposed early (N20) high-frequency oscillations around 600 Hz. Previous studies reported alterations of SEPs in patients with schizophrenia. This study addresses the question whether those alterations are also observable in populations at risk for developing schizophrenia or bipolar disorders. To our knowledge to date, this is the first study investigating SEPs in a population at risk for developing psychoses. Median nerve SEPs were investigated using multichannel EEG in individuals at risk for developing bipolar disorders (n = 25), individuals with high-risk status (n = 59) and ultra-high-risk status for schizophrenia (n = 73) and a gender and age-matched control group (n = 45). Strengths and latencies of low- and high-frequency components as estimated by dipole source analysis were compared between groups. Low- and high-frequency source activity was reduced in both groups at risk for schizophrenia, in comparison to the group at risk for bipolar disorders. HFO amplitudes were also significant reduced in subjects with high-risk status for schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. These differences were accentuated among cannabis non-users. Reduced N20 source strengths were related to higher positive symptom load. These results suggest that the risk for schizophrenia, in contrast to bipolar disorders, may involve an impairment of early cerebral somatosensory processing. Neurophysiologic alterations in schizophrenia precede the onset of initial psychotic episode and may serve as indicator of vulnerability for developing schizophrenia. PMID:25309363

Control and Diagnosis in Integrated Product Development - Observations during the Development of an AGV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stetter, R.; Simundsson, A.

2015-11-01

This paper is concerned with the integration of control and diagnosis functionalities into the development of complete systems which include mechanical, electrical and electronic subsystems. For the development of such systems the strategies, methods and tools of integrated product development have attracted significant attention during the last decades. Today, it is generally observed that product development processes of complex systems can only be successful if the activities in the different domains are well connected and synchronised and if an ongoing communication is present - an ongoing communication spanning the technical domains and also including functions such as production planning, marketing/distribution, quality assurance, service and project planning. Obviously, numerous approaches to tackle this challenge are present in scientific literature and in industrial practice, as well. Today, the functionality and safety of most products is to a large degree dependent on control and diagnosis functionalities. Still, there is comparatively little research concentrating on the integration of the development of these functionalities into the overall product development processes. The main source of insight of the presented research is the product development process of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) which is intended to be used on rough terrain. The paper starts with a background describing Integrated Product Development. The second section deals with the product development of the sample product. The third part summarizes some insights and formulates first hypotheses concerning control and diagnosis in Integrated Product Development.

Developing Early Undergraduate Research at a Two-Year College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sibbernsen, Kendra

2013-01-01

Two-year college (TYC) physics teachers are not often required to provide student research experiences as a part of their contracted duties. However, some TYC physics faculty members are interested in developing research opportunities for their freshman- and sophomore-level students, often called "early undergraduate research" (EUR).…

HIV Infection: Transmission, Effects on Early Development, and Interventions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowenthal, Barbara

1997-01-01

Describes the modes of transmission of HIV and the course of the disease in infants and toddlers. Information is provided on its effects on early development, medical screening and treatments, therapies, psychosocial assistance, and interventions, including nutritional therapy, occupational and physical therapies, and speech and language therapy.…