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The author reviews the publications on redox-sensitive transcription factor activation. The topics of interest include the ability of different agents causing redox stress to mediate transcription activation via specific pathways.

• We examined the cross-lagged relations between pinyin and character recognition. • We examined if phonological awareness mediates their relation. • Pinyin knowledge and character recognition were reciprocally related from kindergarten to the beginning of Grade 1. • Phonological awareness did not mediate their relation. • Pinyin is important for Chinese reading, but its contribution comes before its formal teaching at school. Although previous studies have shown that early pinyin knowledge predicts future character recognition, it remains unclear if early character recognition also predicts future pinyin knowledge. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the cross-lagged relations between pinyin knowledge and character recognition and whether their relation is mediated by phonological awareness. One hundred fifty-nine third year kindergarten children (70 girls, 89 boys; M age = 72.70 months) from Jining, China, were followed from the end of kindergarten to the beginning of Grade 1 and were tested twice on pinyin knowledge, phonological awareness, and character recognition. Results of cross-lagged analysis showed first that pinyin knowledge and character recognition had a reciprocal relationship. Second, phonological awareness did not mediate the effects of pinyin knowledge on character recognition. These findings suggest that pinyin knowledge and character recognition have a reciprocal relation that takes place well before children are formally introduced to either script. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research demonstrates that the 17.4 kilodalton regulator of ribonuclease activity A, RraA, binds to ribonuclease E and inhibits the latter's endonucleolytic cleavages. Data indicate that RraA abundance circumvents an autoregulatory mechanism that maintains the cellular concentration of ribonuclease E leading to a genome-wide accumulation of ribonuclease E-targeted transcripts.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of the immersion of standardized dentin bars in 5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) solutions at 60°C and 80°C on their viscoelastic properties using dynamic mechanical analysis. Eighteen intact teeth were used to produce 99 dentin bars of standard dimensions (12 × 1 × 2 mm) and randomly allocated to 6 groups (n = 15 each) for immersion in (1) saline at 26°C, (2) saline at 60°C, (3) saline at 80°C, (4) NaOCl at 26°C, (5) NaOCl at 60°C, and (6) NaOCl at 80°C. The bars were individually tested using dynamic mechanical analysis at baseline and after every 10 minutes of immersion in the test medium, up to 40 minutes. The effects of media, temperature, duration of exposure, and aspect ratio of bars on the storage modulus and tan delta were investigated using generalized estimating equations. There was a significant interaction between the test medium and the duration of immersion (P <.05). The storage modulus of specimens immersed in NaOCl at 60°C or 80°C decreased significantly (P <.0001) over time of exposure, but the changes in other groups were minimal and insignificant. The tan delta of specimens immersed in saline 80°C (P <.05), NaOCl at 60°C (P <.05), or 80°C (P <.0001) increased significantly over the time of exposure, but the change in NaOCl at 26°C was minimal. Other groups displayed negligible changes. NaOCl at 60°C or 80°C significantly reduced the elastic behavior but increased the hysteresis of dentin under cyclic loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We construct the all loop effective action representing, for small couplings, simultaneously self- and mutually interacting current algebra CFTs realized by WZW models. This non-trivially generalizes our previous works where such interactions were, at the linear level, not simultaneously present. For the two coupling case we prove integrability and calculate the coupled RG flow equations. We also consider non-Abelian T-duality type limits. Our models provide concrete realizations of integrable flows between exact CFTs and exhibit several new features which we discuss in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By employing CFT techniques, we show how to compute in the context of λ -deformations of current algebras and coset CFTs the exact in the deformation parameters C -function for a wide class of integrable theories that interpolate between a UV and an IR point. We explicitly consider RG flows for integrable deformations of left–right asymmetric current algebras and coset CFTs. In all cases, the derived exact C -functions obey all the properties asserted by Zamolodchikov's c -theorem in two-dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Τhe purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of parents’ expectations, family’s socioeconomic status (SES) and home literacy environment (formal and informal literacy experiences and literacy resources at home) with emergent literacy skills (phonological awareness, vocabulary) and word reading in Chinese. One hundred and forty third-year kindergarten Chinese children (71 girls and 69 boys; mean age = 70.54 months) were assessed on nonverbal IQ, phonological awareness, vocabulary, and word reading. Parents also filled out a questionnaire on their educational level and income, the frequency of engaging in different home literacy-related activities with their child, and their expectations about their child’s reading/school performance. Results of path analysis showed that formal literacy activities predicted phonological awareness and literacy resources at home predicted vocabulary. In addition, family’s SES was a significant predictor of literacy resources at home and parents’ expectations was a significant predictor of all home literacy aspects and of word reading. Results of multiple mediation analysis further showed that the effects of parents’ expectations on word reading were partly mediated by formal literacy experiences and literacy resources at home. In contrast, the effects of literacy resources at home on word reading were fully mediated by the effects of vocabulary on phonological awareness. Taken together, these findings suggest that the links between home literacy environment (including the factors that shape the quantity and quality of the home literacy experiences) and reading in Chinese are not as straightforward as those previously reported in alphabetic languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove that the doubly λ -deformed σ -models, which include integrable cases, are canonically equivalent to the sum of two single λ -deformed models. This explains the equality of the exact β -functions and current anomalous dimensions of the doubly λ -deformed σ -models to those of two single λ -deformed models. Our proof is based upon agreement of their Hamiltonian densities and of their canonical structure. Subsequently, we show that it is possible to take a well defined non-Abelian type limit of the doubly-deformed action. Last, but not least, by extending the above, we construct multi-matrix integrable deformations of an arbitrary number of WZW models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the contribution of phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, morphological awareness and rapid naming to word-reading accuracy and fluency in Chinese. We tested 1776 children from Grades 1 to 6. The results of path analysis indicated that phonological awareness was a significant predictor of word reading only in beginning readers. Morphological awareness and orthographic knowledge were strong predictors of word reading across reading proficiency levels. Finally, rapid naming uniquely predicted oral reading fluency and its effects increased across reading proficiency levels. These findings suggest that the writing system children learn to read determines the strength of the cognitive and linguistic skills involved in reading acquisition and the time when they exert their influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compute the all-loop anomalous dimensions of current and primary field operators in deformed current algebra theories based on a general semi-simple group, but with different (large) levels for the left and right sectors. These theories, unlike their equal level counterparts, possess a new non-trivial fixed point in the IR. By computing the exact in λ two- and three-point functions for these operators we deduce their OPEs and their equal-time commutators. Using these we argue on the nature of the CFT at the IR fixed point. The associated to the currents Poisson brackets are a two-parameter deformation of the canonical structure of the isotropic PCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle production in integrable field theories may exist depending on the vacuum around which excitations are defined. To tackle this and analogous issues with conventional field theoretical tools, we consider the integrable λ -deformed model for S U (2) together with a timelike coordinate. We construct the corresponding four-dimensional plane wave background (a deformation of the Nappi–Witten solution) keeping also post-plane wave corrections, as well as all the non-trivial λ -dependence. After imposing the classical light-cone gauge and the Virasoro constraints, we obtain an interacting field theory for the transverse physical modes which are massive. We explicitly demonstrate the absence of particle production to leading order in the large k -expansion. This is based crucially on the form of the interaction vertices and their dependence on the λ -deformation parameter. In addition, we compute the S -matrix for the two-particle elastic scattering exactly in λ and to leading order in the large k -expansion. Our method can be applied to any integrable theory with at least one isometry in order to check the classical integrability of the parent theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compute the 2- and 3-point functions of currents and primary fields of λ -deformed integrable σ -models characterized also by an integer k . Our results apply for any semisimple group G , for all values of the deformation parameter λ and up to order 1 / k . We deduce the OPEs and equal-time commutators of all currents and primaries. We derive the currents' Poisson brackets which assume Rajeev's deformation of the canonical structure of the isotropic PCM, the underlying structure of the integrable λ -deformed σ -models. We also present analogous results in two limiting cases of special interest, namely for the non-Abelian T-dual of the PCM and for the pseudodual model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monoclonal antibody-based drugs continue to be one of the most rapidly growing classes of therapeutic molecules. At present, the majority of approved therapeutic antibodies are of the human IgG1 format, which can elicit immune effector functions (e.g., antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, antibody-dependent cellular phagocytosis, and complement-dependent cytotoxicity). However, there is a wealth of functional diversity that is present in other isotypes and IgG subclasses that can be exploited to improve clinical safety and performance by increasing stability, reduction of adverse events, modulation of effector functions, and by the engagement of two antigens by a single antibody. This review presents an overview of the different antibody isotypes and subclasses and details how exchanging amino acids between different isotypes ( i.e ., ‘cross-isotypes’) can be exploited to generate novel therapeutic platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine if different measures of Planning could be used to operationalize action and operation planning, and if these two levels of Planning could predict different reading comprehension outcomes after controlling for vocabulary and reading speed. One hundred eighty-six university students (120 females; mean age = 22.26 years) were assessed on Planning (Planned Connections, Planned Patterns, Planned Codes, and Crack the Code), vocabulary, reading speed, and reading comprehension (Nelson-Denny Reading Test and Interleaved Sentences). The results of factor analysis indicated first that the four Planning tasks were loading on two separate factors conceptually dividing them into two levels: action planning (CTC) and operation planning (Planned Connections, Planned Patterns, and Planned Codes). Second, the results of regression analyses showed that action planning was accounting for unique variance only when predicting performance demanding a higher level of comprehension (Nelson Denny), whereas operation planning predicted performance only in a task requiring a relatively lower level of comprehension (Interleaved Sentences). These findings suggest that the division of Planning into its different levels can help us better understand its contribution to reading comprehension. At the same time, the cognitive demands exerted by different comprehension outcomes may also determine the strength of their relationship with Planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to examine what component of executive functions (EF) - planning and working memory - predicts reading comprehension in young adults (Study 1), and (b) to examine if less skilled comprehenders experience deficits in the EF components (Study 2). In Study 1, we assessed 178 university students (120 females; mean age=21.82 years) on planning (Planned Connections, Planned Codes, and Planned Patterns), working memory (Listening Span, Digit Span Backward, and Digit Memory), and reading comprehension (Nelson-Denny Reading Test). The results of structural equation modeling indicated that only planning was a significant predictor of reading comprehension. In Study 2, we assessed 30 university students with a specific reading comprehension deficit (19 females; mean age=23.01 years) and 30 controls (18 females; mean age=22.77 years) on planning (Planned Connections and Crack the Code) and working memory (Listening Span and Digit Span Backward). The results showed that less skilled comprehenders performed significantly poorer than controls only in planning. Taken together, the findings of both studies suggest that planning is the preeminent component of EF that is driving its relationship with reading comprehension in young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calculate the all-loop anomalous dimensions of current operators in λ -deformed σ -models. For the isotropic integrable deformation and for a semi-simple group G we compute the anomalous dimensions using two different methods. In the first we use the all-loop effective action and in the second we employ perturbation theory along with the Callan–Symanzik equation and in conjunction with a duality-type symmetry shared by these models. Furthermore, using CFT techniques we compute the all-loop anomalous dimension of bilinear currents for the isotropic deformation case and a general G . Finally we work out the anomalous dimension matrix for the cases of anisotropic SU ( 2 ) and the two couplings, corresponding to the symmetric coset G / H and a subgroup H , splitting of a group G . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Parents’ teaching predicted reading through the effects of letter knowledge. [•] Book exposure predicted reading through the effects of vocabulary on phonological awareness. [•] Home numeracy environment predicted math fluency through the effects of verbal counting. [•] Parents engaged more frequently in numeracy activities than in literacy activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Disregulation of complement activation plays a critical role in numerous inflammatory diseases and therefore, inhibition of the complement pathway is of great therapeutic interest. In the classical complement pathway, immune complexes formed by IgM, IgG1, IgG2 and IgG3 antibodies result in the activation of the C1s protease that in turn cleaves C4 and then C4-bound-C2 yielding the proteolytic fragments C4b and C2a which associate to form a C3 convertase enzyme. We report here the engineering of a potent human antibody inhibitor of C1s protease activity. Phage panning of a very large synthetic (FAB) antibody fragment library using a truncated version of C1s, comprising the second CCP domain and serine protease domain (CCP2-SP) and expressed in insect cells, resulted in the isolation of a FAB that inhibited the catalytic activity of C1s. An affinity matured variant of the FAB format antibody displaying subnanomolar K D for C1s was shown to exhibit >80% inhibition of C2 processing at a 5:1 antibody:C1s molar ratio. We show that this engineered antibody, D.35, displays potent inhibition of complement deposition and lysis of Ramos cells by the anti-CD20 therapeutic antibody rituximab relative to the approved, but less-specific, human plasma-derived C1-inhibitor (CINRYZE). C1s inhibitory antibodies should be useful for delineating the role of the classical pathway in disease models and may hold promise as therapeutic agents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We examined the cross-lagged relations between children's task-avoidant behavior and their performance in reading and spelling in Chinese. Eighty Grade 2 and 103 Grade 4 Mandarin-speaking Taiwanese children were assessed on measures of nonverbal IQ, task value, reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling. A year later, the children were reassessed on the literacy tasks. The teachers also assessed the children's task-avoidant behavior at both testing times. The results indicated that task-avoidant behavior was a significant predictor of spelling and to a lesser extent of reading accuracy, even after controlling for the effects of the previous level of literacy skill, nonverbal IQ, and task value. Cross-lagged relationships were found only in the younger age group and only when spelling was the literacy outcome. These findings suggest that, in the context of Chinese, task-avoidant behavior is an important antecedent of performance in demanding tasks such as spelling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Gravitational instabilities of isothermal spheres are studied in the presence of a positive or negative cosmological constant, in the Newtonian limit. In gravity, the statistical ensembles are not equivalent. We perform the analysis both in the microcanonical and the canonical ensembles, for which the corresponding instabilities are known as ‘gravothermal catastrophe’ and ‘isothermal collapse’, respectively. In the microcanonical ensemble, no equilibria can be found for radii larger than a critical value, which is increasing with increasing cosmological constant. In contrast, in the canonical ensemble, no equilibria can be found for radii smaller than a critical value, which is decreasing with increasing cosmological constant. For a positive cosmological constant, characteristic reentrant behavior is observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: Hydroxyapatite (HA), fluor-hydroxyapatite (FHA) with varying levels of fluoride ion substitution and fluorapatite (FA) production has been characterised and optimised by the sol–gel method and the dissolution and biological properties of these materials were investigated. It was the objective of this study to investigate the potential bond strength and interaction of these materials with titanium. Methods: HA, FHA and FA were synthesised by a sol–gel method. Calcium nitrate and triethyl phosphite were used as precursors under an ethanol–water based solution. Different amounts of ammonium fluoride (NH4F) were incorporated for the preparation of the FHA and FA sol–gels. Using a spin coating technique the sol–gels were coated onto commercially pure titanium disks and crystallised at various temperatures. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis, the surface characteristics, coating thickness and interaction of the Ti substrate and coating were investigated. The bond strengths of the coating to the Ti were investigated using an Instron Universal Load Testing Machine. Statistical analysis was performed with a two-way analysis of variance and post hoc testing with a Bonferroni correction. Results: (1) Coating speed inversely influenced the coating thickness. (2) Increasing fluoride ion substitution and heating temperature significantly increased bond strength and (3) increasing fluoride ion substitution increased the coating thickness. Significance: FHA and FA synthesised using the sol–gel technique may offer a superior alternative to coating titanium implants with HA and plasma spraying. HA, FHA and FA materials synthesised by the sol–gel method may also have a use as bone grafting materials. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article reports two different studies examining the theoretical account of low-level deficits in beat perception as an alternative explanation of developmental dyslexia in Greek, an orthographically consistent language. Study I examined the relationship of amplitude rise time and frequency discrimination with measures of phonological processing, working memory, and reading fluency in a large unselected sample of Grade 4 children. Study II examined the presence of beat perception deficits in groups of Grade 2, 4, and 6 children with dyslexia and their chronological age controls. The results provided no evidence to support meaningful associations between beat perception tasks and reading or the theoretical account of beat perception deficits as a sufficient explanation or contributing factor to dyslexia. Implications on the importance of auditory processing in reading in orthographically consistent languages are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of PASS (Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive) processes to Chinese reading accuracy and fluency. One-hundred-forty Grade 3 to 5 Mandarin-speaking children were assessed on measures of PASS processes, phonological awareness, and orthographic knowledge. A year later they were assessed on reading accuracy and fluency. The results indicated that successive processing predicted reading through the effects of phonological awareness and simultaneous processing predicted reading through the effects of orthographic knowledge. The results were similar for reading accuracy and fluency. Implications for the PASS theory are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Traumatic eosinophilic granuloma with stromal eosinophilia is a rare entity that affects the oral mucosa and has a controversial etiologic pathogenesis. Histologically, these lesions are characterized by a dense and deeply infiltrative lymphoproliferation showing epitheliotropic characteristics and massive eosinophilia. Frequently, a population of mitotically active, atypical mononuclear cells can be noted. This report describes a case of traumatic eosinophilic granuloma with stromal eosinophilia in the floor of the mouth of an 88-year-old man. The phenotypic and genotypic profiles of the inflammatory infiltrate and large atypical mononuclear cells, using immunohistochemical and polymerase chain reaction-based molecular analysis, were analyzed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A new generation of high-throughput technologies for quantitative and clonal analysis of adaptive immune responses have been developed. Functional analysis of lymphocyte populations has been accomplished via microfluidic assay systems. Additionally, lymphocyte receptor repertoires have been characterized on proteomic and genomic levels with multiplexed protein microarrays and high-throughput DNA sequencing. These tools are providing an unprecedented level of information depth on the distribution of adaptive immune cell (B and T cell) functionalities and repertoires, which develop upon activation following vaccination, pathogenic infection, or in disease states. These various high-throughput technologies have unlocked the potential to transform immunology into an information-rich science that will enable rapid expansion of the field of experimental systems immunology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We examined the applicability of the Home Literacy Model in an orthographically transparent language (Greek). Seventy Greek children were followed from kindergarten until grade 4. In kindergarten they were tested in non-verbal intelligence, vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, rapid naming, and letter knowledge. The parents of the children also responded on a questionnaire regarding the frequency of storybook reading, the number of books at home, and the frequency of teaching letter names, sounds, and words. Reading fluency and comprehension were measured in grade 4. The results indicated that the early home literacy experience variables were related to the emergent literacy skills but did not directly predict future reading skills. Thus, the Home Literacy Model applies to consistent orthographies before any formal reading instruction takes place. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We examined whether the effect that different non-cognitive and cognitive factors have on reading acquisition varies as a function of orthographic consistency. Canadian (n =77) and Greek (n =95) children attending kindergarten were examined on general cognitive ability, phonological sensitivity, and letter knowledge. The parents of the children responded to a questionnaire on home literacy activities and the teachers reported on children''s task-focused behaviour. In Grades 1 and 2 the children''s word decoding and reading fluency were assessed. Results indicated that direct teaching of letter names and sounds at home was associated with better letter knowledge in both languages. Task-focused behaviour and letter knowledge in kindergarten predicted significantly nonword decoding in Grade 1, but their effect was stronger in English than in Greek. This pattern was not replicated for reading fluency in Grade 2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The engineering of novel and precise sequence specificity into proteases will provide an important route to the development of exciting new tools for analytical, biotechnological, and therapeutic applications. Significant progress has been made in reprogramming protease specificity, largely because of the development of high-throughput assay technologies allowing the isolation of protease variants from large libraries. For example, using directed evolution as well as other approaches, proteases have been reprogrammed to cleave substrates containing a variety of amino acids in the P1 and P1′ positions including a post-translationally modified tyrosine, a specificity not yet identified in any naturally occurring protease. Together, these recent advances represent substantial progress that could soon enable the widespread application of engineered proteases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the CASTOR project funded by the EU and industry the emission reduction target for CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) was set at 30% of the CO2 emissions from power plants in Europe, which is to be achieved during the first half of this century. The developed scenario shows that this target can be met, although major uncertainties remain in the timely availability of oil and gas fields and the storage potential of aquifers. Results show that a rapid replacement of power plants after 2011 in northern Europe will give ample opportunity for using CCS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Little information is available about the rare but serious disadvantage of dissociation of modular components during dislocation or after close reduction in the bipolar hemiarthroplasty of the hip. In most cases, simple dislocation after primary bipolar hemiarthroplasty can safely be reduced by close methods. Dissociation leads almost always to reoperation and possible revision of the prosthesis. To avoid this complication, strict adherence to the surgical technique during the initial procedure and extra precaution during close reduction are recommended, in order to provide enhanced security over component disassembly. In the five cases presented in this study, dissociation is reported at different circumstances, along with the different methods of treatment required in each patient. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]