Search

Air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been associated with various health implications that can lead to increased morbidity and excess mortality. Epidemiological and toxicological studies have shown that carbonaceous particles (black carbon and organic aerosols) may be more hazardous to human health than inorganic ones. Health impact studies and emission reduction policies are based on total PM2.5 concentration without differentiating the more harmful components. In such assessments, PM2.5 and their sub-component concentrations are usually modeled with air quality models. Organic aerosols have been shown to be consistently underestimated, which may affect excess mortality estimates. Here, we use the WRF-Chem model to simulate PM2.5 (including carbonaceous particles) over the wider European domain and assess some of the main factors that contribute to uncertainty. In particular, we explore the impact of anthropogenic emissions and meteorological modeling on carbonaceous aerosol concentrations. We further assess their effects on excess mortality estimates by using the Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM). We find that meteorological grid nudging is essential for accurately representing both PM2.5 and carbonaceous aerosols and that, for this application, results improve more significantly compared to spectral nudging. Our results indicate that the explicit account of organic precursors (semi-volatile and intermediate-volatile organic carbons—SVOCs/IVOCs) in emission inventories would improve the accuracy of organic aerosols modeling. We conclude that uncertainties related to PM2.5 modeling in Europe lead to a ∼15% deviation in excess mortality, which is comparable to the risk model uncertainty. This estimate is relevant when all PM2.5 sub-components are assumed to be equally toxic but can be higher by considering their specific toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using behavioral network analysis, the present study aimed to examine the relation between various cognitive-linguistic skills and Chinese character reading in children from preschool to primary school. A cohort of 172 Chinese children (41.3% female; Mage = 5.74 ± 0.32 years) were followed from the end of kindergarten (T1) to first grade (T2) and end of Grade 3 (T3), and were assessed on cognitive-linguistic skills (i.e., orthographic awareness, morphological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and phonological awareness), executive functions, and character reading. Behavioral network analysis showed that the association between orthographic awareness and Chinese character reading was significant at T1 and T2 but faded by T3. Morphological awareness displayed no significant correlation with Chinese character reading at T1 and T2, while this correlation strengthened at T3. Rapid automatized naming consistently demonstrated a significant correlation with Chinese character reading across all three time points. In contrast, phonological awareness, inhibitory control, and working memory failed to exhibit a significant correlation with Chinese character reading at all three time points. The findings shed light on the unique and evolving roles of metalinguistic skills in shaping Chinese character reading during this developmental stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the relations between mothers' reading skills, home literacy environment (HLE), and children's emergent literacy skills and word reading and whether their relations vary across urban and rural contexts in China. Four hundred third-year kindergarten Chinese children (Mage = 74.50 ± 3.77 months) were recruited from Jining (N = 232) and the small towns of Luqiao and Mapo (N = 168). The children were assessed on emergent literacy skills (pinyin letter knowledge, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming [RAN], and vocabulary) and word reading. Their mothers were also assessed on reading skills and completed a questionnaire on HLE (direct teaching, shared book reading, and access to literacy resources [ALR]). Results of structural equation modeling showed that (a) mothers' reading skills correlated with shared book reading and ALR in both groups, (b) direct teaching predicted children's pinyin letter knowledge, and ALR predicted phonological awareness and vocabulary in both groups after controlling for mothers' reading skills and parents' education, and (c) mothers' reading skills had an indirect effect on children's word reading through vocabulary (in the urban group) or phonological awareness (in the rural group). Multigroup analyses further showed that the effect of direct teaching on RAN was stronger in the rural group. These findings suggest that HLE exerts its effect on children's emergent literacy skills and word reading across contexts, even after controlling for mothers' reading skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laboratory evolution studies have demonstrated that parallel evolutionary trajectories can lead to genetically distinct enzymes with high activity towards a non-preferred substrate. However, it is unknown whether such enzymes have convergent conformational dynamics and mechanistic features. To address this question, we use as a model the wild-type Homo sapiens kynureninase (HsKYNase), which is of great interest for cancer immunotherapy. Earlier, we isolated HsKYNase_66 through an unusual evolutionary trajectory, having a 410-fold increase in the kcat/KM for kynurenine (KYN) and reverse substrate selectivity relative to HsKYNase. Here, by following a different evolutionary trajectory we generate a genetically distinct variant, HsKYNase_93D9, that exhibits KYN catalytic activity comparable to that of HsKYNase_66, but instead it is a "generalist" that accepts 3'-hydroxykynurenine (OH-KYN) with the same proficiency. Pre-steady-state kinetic analysis reveals that while the evolution of HsKYNase_66 is accompanied by a change in the rate-determining step of the reactions, HsKYNase_93D9 retains the same catalytic mechanism as HsKYNase. HDX-MS shows that the conformational dynamics of the two enzymes are markedly different and distinct from ortholog prokaryotic enzymes with high KYN activity. Our work provides a mechanistic framework for understanding the relationship between evolutionary mechanisms and phenotypic traits of evolved generalist and specialist enzyme species. In this work, the authors show that two parallel and distinct evolutionary pathways can lead to genetically diverse enzyme species that harbour similar catalytic activities against the desired substrate, modulated by distinct conformational dynamics during catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers tend to use oral- and silent-reading fluency measures interchangeably and to generalize research findings across reading modes, especially from oral to silent reading. In this study, we sought to examine if oral and silent word-reading fluency rely on the same cognitive-linguistic skills. Three hundred and forty-five Greek children (80 from Grade 2, 85 from Grade 4, 91 from Grade 6, and 89 from Grade 10) were assessed on measures of general cognitive ability, speed of processing, phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, orthographic knowledge, articulation rate, and word-reading fluency (oral and silent). Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that phonological awareness was a unique predictor of both reading outcomes in Grade 2 and orthographic knowledge was a unique predictor of both reading outcomes in Grades 4, 6, and 10. However, rapid automatized naming predicted only oral word-reading fluency. These findings suggest that silent and oral word-reading fluency do not necessarily rely on the same cognitive-linguistic skills at the same grade level and we need to exercise some caution when we generalize the findings across reading modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the associations between teachers' knowledge of language and literacy constructs, perceived ability to teach early literacy skills, instructional practice, and students' early reading outcomes. The results showed that teacher knowledge predicted quality of instruction, but neither quality of instruction nor teacher knowledge were associated with stronger decoding or word reading outcomes once earlier decoding skills were controlled. Differentiation of instruction was observed more in classrooms with lower initial decoding skills, and it contributed to better decoding at Time 2. Finally, perceived ability predicted decoding and years of experience predicted word reading at Time 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine if individuals with reading difficulties (RD), mathematics difficulties (MD), or unspecified learning difficulties (ULD) experience internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, and social withdrawal) to the same extent, and if the effect sizes are influenced by moderators (age, internalizing problems type, anxiety type, rater type, selection criteria, and attention control). We reviewed 2,806 studies published in English between January 2000 and April 2023. Our final sample consisted of 96 studies that reported effect sizes or data to calculate them (a total of 120 unique samples, 83,260 participants, age range = 7.3 – 34.8 years). Risk of bias and sensitivity were assessed. A random-effects model analysis revealed a significant and moderate overall effect size (Hedge's g = -.54), indicating that individuals with RD, MD or ULD experience more internalizing problems than their chronological-age (CA) controls. Follow-up analyses showed that neither learning difficulties type nor age of participants were significant moderators, but selection criteria (diagnosis versus screening) and internalizing problems type were. These findings suggest that individuals with RD do not differ from those with MD or ULD in internalizing problems, and all fare poorly compared to CA controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the relationship between dyslexia and mental health problems. While some studies have shown that individuals with dyslexia experience higher rates of anxiety, depression, somatic complaints, and social withdrawal, others have reported no significant effects. The special issue includes seven articles from different countries, examining the association between dyslexia and anxiety and depression. The studies suggest a significant connection between dyslexia and social anxiety, and the impact of reading difficulties on depression may vary depending on cultural factors. The article emphasizes the need for more intervention studies and highlights the importance of fostering resilience and coping mechanisms for children with learning difficulties. [Extracted from the article]

We calculate holographically three-point functions of scalar operators with large dimensions at finite density and finite temperature. To achieve this, we construct new solutions that involve two isometries of the deformed internal space. The novel feature of these solutions is that the corresponding two-point function depends not only on the conformal dimension but also on the difference between the two angular momenta. After identifying the dual operators, we systematically calculate three-point correlators as an expansion in powers of the temperature and the chemical potential. Our analytic perturbative results are in agreement with the exact numerical computation. The three point correlator (when the background contains either temperature or density but not both) is always a monotonic function of the temperature or the chemical potential. However, when both parameters are present the three point correlator is no longer a monotonic function. For fixed finite temperature and small values of the chemical potential a minimum of the three-point function appears. Surprisingly, contributions from the internal space do not depend on the chemical potential or the temperature, as long as those are treated as perturbations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined whether different parent- and teacher-related factors had an effect on at-risk children's reading development during the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Seventy Grade 1 English-speaking Canadian children (28 females, 42 males; Mage = 6.60, SD = 0.46) who were at-risk for reading difficulties were administered word and pseudoword reading, nonverbal IQ, and phonological awareness tasks before the school closures (February 2020; Time 1). Reading tasks were administered again when they returned to school in September 2020 (Time 2). In April-May 2020, their parents (n = 70) and teachers (n = 40) filled out a questionnaire on the home literacy environment and the frequency of teaching reading and providing reading materials, respectively. Results of multilevel regression analyses showed that children's reading enjoyment and home learning activities predicted both word and pseudoword reading at Time 2. Differentiation of instruction for struggling readers also predicted children's pseudoword reading at Time 2. These findings reinforce the important role of parents in their children's early reading development particularly when the typical agents of instruction (i.e., teachers) have less time and opportunities to interact with their students because of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calculate holographically one and two-point functions of scalar operators at finite density and/or finite temperature. In the case of finite density and zero temperature we argue that only scalar operators can have non-zero VEVs. In the case in which both the chemical potential and the temperature are finite, we present a systematic expansion of the two-point correlators in powers of the temperature T and the chemical potential Ω. The holographic result is in agreement with the general form of the OPE which dictates that the two-point function may be written as a linear combination of the Gegenbauer polynomials C J 1 (ξ) but with the coefficients depending now on both the temperature and the chemical potential, as well as on the CFT data. The leading terms in this expansion originate from the expectation values of the scalar operator ϕ2, the R-current J ϕ 3 μ and the energy-momentum tensor Tμν. By employing the Ward identity for the R-current and by comparing the appropriate term of the holographic result for the two-point correlator to the corresponding term in the OPE, we derive the value of the R-charge density of the background. Compelling agreement with the analysis of the thermodynamics of the black hole is found. Finally, we determine the behaviour of the two-point correlators, in the case of finite temperature, and in the limit of large temporal or spatial distance of the operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct and thoroughly study a new integrable example of the AdS/CFT correspondence with Schrödinger symmetry. On the gravity side, the supergravity solution depends on two parameters and is obtained by marginally deforming the internal space of the Schrödinger background through a series of TsT transformations. On the field theory side, we identify the dual field theory which also depends on two parameters. We find a point-like string solution and derive its dispersion relation. By using the Landau-Lifshitz coherent state Lagrangian, which originates from field theory, we reproduce the leading, in the deformation parameters, terms of the string theory prediction. This constitutes a non-trivial test of the correspondence. Then, we calculate the Wilson loop, describing the quark/anti-quark potential at strong coupling. It exhibits confining behaviour when the separation length is much less than the Schrödinger parameter. When the separation length is much greater than the Schrödinger parameter the behaviour is that of a conformal theory. Subsequently, we take the Penrose limit along a certain null geodesic of the constructed background and calculate the bosonic spectrum. Based on that spectrum, we make an educated guess for the exact, in the 't Hooft coupling, dispersion relation of the magnon excitations in the original doubly deformed background. This provides us with an exact prediction for the dimensions of the dual field theory operators. This applies to operators of large length, for which finite size corrections are suppressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beyond the established difficulties of individuals with dyslexia in word recognition and spelling, it remains unclear how severe their difficulties in comprehension are. To examine this, we performed a meta-analytic review. A random-effects model analysis of data from 76 studies revealed a large deficit in reading comprehension in individuals with dyslexia compared to their chronological-age (CA) controls (g = 1.43) and a smaller one compared to their reading-level (RL) matched controls (g = 0.64). Individuals with dyslexia also differed significantly from their CA controls in listening comprehension (g = 0.43). Results further showed significant heterogeneity in the effect sizes that was partly explained by orthographic consistency (the deficits were larger in languages with low orthographic consistency) and vocabulary matching (the deficits were larger in studies in which the groups were not matched on vocabulary). These findings suggest, first, that individuals with dyslexia experience significant difficulties in both reading and listening comprehension, but the effect sizes are smaller than those reported in the literature for word reading and spelling. Second, our findings suggest that the deficits in reading comprehension are likely a combination of deficits in both decoding and oral language skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to examine the cross-lagged relations between vocabulary and word reading in children learning two scripts at the same time (pinyin and Chinese). One hundred fifty-nine third-year kindergarten Chinese children (70 girls and 89 boys; mean age = 72.70 months) were assessed on measures of nonverbal IQ, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. In Grades 1 and 2, they were reassessed on pinyin reading, Chinese word reading, and vocabulary. Results of cross-lagged analysis indicated that vocabulary and Chinese word reading were reciprocally related. In contrast, the relation between pinyin reading and vocabulary was unidirectional (pinyin reading in Grade 1 predicted vocabulary in Grade 2). Taken together, these findings suggest that the direction of the relation between vocabulary and word reading is sensitive to the features of the script children are learning to read (thus, providing support of the script relativity hypothesis) and the time when these measures are assessed in different scripts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined whether developing reading skills in the two scripts of Japanese, syllabic Hiragana and morphographic Kanji, had differential effects on underlying cognitive skills. One hundred ninety-one Japanese children (97 girls, 94 boys; Mage = 100.23 months) were assessed on rapid automatized naming (RAN), vocabulary, morphological awareness, visual-spatial skills, Hiragana reading fluency, and Kanji character recognition at the end of Grade 2 and again at the end of Grade 3. Results of cross-lagged analysis showed that Hiragana reading fluency in Grade 2 predicted RAN and visual-spatial skills in Grade 3, and Kanji character recognition in Grade 2 predicted vocabulary in Grade 3, even when the same skills in Grade 2 were controlled. Taken together, these findings suggest that the nature of the script children learn can influence how developing reading skills affect their cognitive underpinnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid-19 pandemic has impacted many aspects of our life and education is not an exception. Lerkkanen et al. also showed that the growth in reading from Grade 1 to 4 was slower for their Covid-19 cohort than their pre-Covid-19 cohort. Overall, the results of the studies included in this special issue indicate that Covid-19 has impacted children's reading performance, particularly in early grades (see also Betthäuser et al., [1]; König & Frey, [2], for evidence from recent meta-analytic studies). [Extracted from the article]

Activated T cells secrete interferon-γ, which triggers intracellular tryptophan shortage by upregulating the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) enzyme1–4. Here we show that despite tryptophan depletion, in-frame protein synthesis continues across tryptophan codons. We identified tryptophan-to-phenylalanine codon reassignment (W>F) as the major event facilitating this process, and pinpointed tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase (WARS1) as its source. We call these W>F peptides ‘substitutants’ to distinguish them from genetically encoded mutants. Using large-scale proteomics analyses, we demonstrate W>F substitutants to be highly abundant in multiple cancer types. W>F substitutants were enriched in tumours relative to matching adjacent normal tissues, and were associated with increased IDO1 expression, oncogenic signalling and the tumour-immune microenvironment. Functionally, W>F substitutants can impair protein activity, but also expand the landscape of antigens presented at the cell surface to activate T cell responses. Thus, substitutants are generated by an alternative decoding mechanism with potential effects on gene function and tumour immunoreactivity.Tryptophan depletion, which occurs in tumours, results in in-frame translation across tryptophan-encoding codons by phenylalanine substitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of this meta-analysis was to estimate the overall size of the relation between rapid automatized naming (RAN) and spelling in alphabetic languages and to examine what factors may moderate their relation. In addition, we examined if the size of the RAN-spelling relation is similar to that of the RAN-reading relation. A random-effects model with robust variance estimation was used to analyze 264 RAN-spelling effect sizes and 385 RAN-reading effect sizes from 103 studies. Results indicated a moderate association between RAN and spelling ( r =. 35 ) and between RAN and reading ( r = .44) with a moderately high degree of heterogeneity. In addition, moderator analyses revealed both similarities and differences in the moderators of the RAN-spelling and RAN-reading relation. Whereas RAN letters and digits correlated more strongly with spelling and reading than colors and objects, RAN correlated more strongly with spelling of real words than pseudowords and more strongly with spelling in opaque orthographies than in intermediate or transparent orthographies. Our findings suggest that RAN is related to both reading and spelling partly because it contributes to the formation of print-to-sound or sound-to-print connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the contribution of rapid automatized naming (RAN) components (articulation time, pause time, and pause time consistency) to reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling in a sample of 257 German children (139 boys, 118 girls; Mage = 5.60 years, SD = 0.31) followed from kindergarten to Grade 1. In kindergarten, children were assessed on measures of RAN (colors and objects), phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, phonological short-term memory, and paired-associate learning. Reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling were assessed at the end of Grade 1. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that pause time and pause time consistency continued to predict reading fluency, but not reading comprehension or spelling, after controlling for the effects of the other cognitive skills assessed in kindergarten. Articulation time did not add to the prediction of any literacy skills. These findings support previous research suggesting that, during the early phases of learning to read, pause time holds the key in the relation between RAN and reading fluency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to examine if individuals with dyslexia (DYS) have a deficit in orthographic knowledge. We reviewed a total of 68 studies published between January 1990 and December 2019, representing a total of 7215 participants. There were 80 independent samples in the chronological-age (CA)-DYS comparison and 33 independent samples in the comparison between DYS and reading-level (RL) controls. A random-effects model analysis revealed a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.17) for the CA-DYS comparison and a small effect size (Cohen's d = 0.18) for the RL-DYS comparison. In addition, we found significant heterogeneity in the effect sizes that was partly explained by the level of orthographic knowledge (effect sizes being higher for lexical than sub-lexical orthographic knowledge). These results suggest that individuals with dyslexia experience an orthographic knowledge deficit that is as large as that of phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming reported in previous meta-analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Che Kan (C. K.) Leong was a Canadian educational psychologist specializing in special education and dyslexia in the Faculty of Education at the University of Saskatchewan. Stimulated by his understanding of the morphological structure of Chinese, C. K. was one of the first to explicitly address the role of morphology in reading (Leong, [1], [7]; Leong, Cheng & Mulcahy, [19]) and reading difficulties (Leong, [8]; Leong, [10]; Leong & Parkinson, [17]). Che Kan Leong (known to all as C. K.) was born in Canton, China, on May 10, 1931. [Extracted from the article]

We construct and study new giant graviton configurations in the framework of the non-supersymmetric Schrödinger holography. We confirm in the original Schrödinger spacetime, the picture discovered previously in the pp-wave limit of the geometry, namely that it is the giant graviton that becomes the energetically favored stable configuration compared to the point graviton one. Furthermore, there is a critical value of the deformation above which the point graviton disappears from the spectrum. The former fact leads also to the possibility of tunnelling from the point graviton to the giant graviton configuration. We calculate, explicitly, the instanton solution and its corresponding action which gives a measure of the tunnelling probability. Finally, we evaluate holographically the three-point correlation function of two giant gravitons and one dilaton mode as a function of the Schrödinger invariant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-linear gain compression is well-known to play an important role in the dynamics of short-pulse generation and propagation in semiconductor lasers. Here, a previously reported delay differential equation model for passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers is enhanced with nonlinear gain compression terms in gain and absorber sections. We report the modified model equations and show the impact in gain/absorption dynamics with respect to the original model. In addition, we perform an extended comparison between the enriched delay differential equation model applied on a ring cavity and a travelling wave model applied on an equivalent Fabry-Perot cavity, highlighting the limits of quantitative and qualitative agreement between the two approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human noroviruses are non-enveloped, single-strand RNA viruses that cause pandemic outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis. A bivalent vaccine containing GI.1 and GII.4 virus-like particles (VLPs) has been shown to be safe and highly immunogenic, but its efficacy and durability have been limited. Here, we show that norovirus GI.1 VLPs are unstable and contain a substantial fraction of dissociated VLP components. Broadly reactive, non-neutralizing antibodies isolated from vaccinated donors bound to the dissociated components, but not to the intact VLPs. Engineering of interprotomer disulfide bonds within the shell domain prevented disassembly of the VLPs, while preserving antibody accessibility to blockade epitopes. Without adjuvant, mice immunized with stabilized GI.1 VLPs developed faster blockade antibody titers compared to immunization with wild-type GI.1 VLPs. In addition, immunization with stabilized particles focused immune responses toward surface-exposed epitopes and away from occluded epitopes. Overall, disulfide-stabilized norovirus GI.1 VLPs elicited improved responses over the non-disulfide-stabilized version, suggesting their promise as candidate vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several studies have examined the role of home literacy environment (HLE) in learning to read in Western societies, little is known about the role of HLE in Chinese reading. In addition, the few studies in Chinese have not tested the possible effects of HLE on reading comprehension. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of different aspects of HLE (formal literacy experiences, informal literacy experiences, and access to literacy resources) on reading comprehension in Chinese. One hundred fifty-nine third year kindergarten children (70 girls and 89 boys; Mage = 72.62 months) participated in the study. In kindergarten, they were assessed on emergent literacy skills (vocabulary, phonological awareness, pinyin knowledge, rapid naming), in Grade 1, on word reading, and, in Grade 2, on reading comprehension. In addition, parents filled out a questionnaire on their education and income, the frequency of different HLE activities, the number of children's books at home, and their expectations, when their children were in kindergarten. Results of structural equation modeling showed that formal literacy experiences predicted reading comprehension through the effects of pinyin knowledge on word reading. Access to literacy resources predicted reading comprehension through the effects of rapid naming, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Finally, informal literacy experiences did not predict any of the emergent literacy skills or reading outcomes. Our findings provide only partial support of the home literacy model and suggest that the culture in which environmental effects take place may determine what aspects of the home literacy environment contribute to children's reading performance and what not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a meta-analytic review of all group-comparison studies that used reading-level match design, were conducted in highly consistent European orthographies, included children with dyslexia younger than 13 years of age as participants, and included measures of one or more of the potential causes of dyslexia. We identified 21 studies meeting these criteria that examined one or more of phonological awareness, rapid naming, verbal short-term memory, or auditory temporal processing. A random effects model analysis showed first that the groups were matched imperfectly and they differed significantly in word reading measures not used for matching. Second, there were no significant differences between the individuals with dyslexia and their reading-level-matched controls in rapid naming, phonological memory, and auditory temporal processing. Finally, the analyses for phonological awareness showed a significant effect for comparisons that involved manipulating phonemes but not for tasks that involved manipulating syllables. The results are compatible with phonological deficit theories of dyslexia, but this conclusion is qualified by observed differences in reading skills and sample selection concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine which of the components of executive functions (EF)—inhibition, shifting, and working memory—predict reading and mathematics achievement and if the effects of these components are the same across two cultures (Western and East Asian). One hundred twenty English-speaking Canadian (65 females, 55 males; Mage = 82.12 months) and 181 Mandarin-speaking Chinese (82 females, 99 males; Mage = 85.85 months) children were assessed on nonverbal IQ, speed of processing, rapid naming, inhibition (Color-Word Stroop), shifting (Planned Connections), working memory (Digit Span Forward and Backward), reading (word identification and reading comprehension), and mathematics (numerical operations and math reasoning). The results of structural equation modeling indicated first that among the EF components only working memory predicted reading and mathematics in the Canadian sample, while inhibition and working memory predicted reading and mathematics in the Chinese sample. The results also showed that inhibition was a stronger predictor of reading and mathematics in the Chinese sample. Taken together, these findings suggest that not all EF components are equally important for reading/mathematics and that culture may influence the relations between specific EF components and academic achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We construct a new giant graviton solution on the recently constructed pp-wave geometry of the non-supersymmetric Schrödinger background. That solution exhibits an intriguing behavior as the deformation parameter of the spacetime varies. Firstly, the degeneracy between the giant and the point graviton is lifted for the benefit of the giant graviton as soon as the deformation is turned on. Secondly, when the deformation parameter exceeds a critical value the barrier separating the point from the giant graviton disappears. This suggests that the mere presence of a D3-brane leads to the spontaneous breaking of conformal invariance. We perform a detailed analysis of the full bosonic spectrum, which reveals that the deformation induces a coupling between the scalar and the gauge field fluctuations. It is exactly this coupling that keeps the giant graviton free of tachyonic instabilities. Furthermore, the giant graviton configuration completely breaks the supersymmetry of the pp-wave background, as the Kappa-symmetry analysis suggests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The serial advantage, defined as the gain in naming rate in the serial over the discrete task of the same content, was examined between grades and types of content in English and Greek. 720 English- and Greek-speaking children from Grades 1, 3, and 5 were tested in rapid naming and reading tasks of different content, including digits, objects, dice, number words, and words. Each type of content was presented in two presentation formats: multiple stimulus displays (i.e., serial naming) and isolated stimulus displays (i.e., discrete naming). Serial tasks yielded faster naming rates—irrespective of task content—in both languages. However, content-specific characteristics influenced the trajectory of the serial advantage between grades. Improvement in the serial advantage between grades was found to be greatest for word reading, which started off similar to object naming in Grade 1, but ended up similar to digit or dice naming by Grade 5. In addition, growth in serial advantage was found to be associated with growth in discrete naming rate only in grade level analysis. For individuals, greater serial advantage was found to rely on processing skills specific to serial naming rather than on differences in the rate of naming isolated items. Our findings suggest that group level findings may not generalize to individuals, and although practice and familiarity with the content on the naming/reading task may impact the development of serial advantage, isolated item identification processes contribute little to individual differences in the gain in serial naming rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research and clinical practitioners have mixed views whether reading and spelling difficulties should be combined or seen as separate. This study examined the following: (a) if double dissociation between reading and spelling can be identified in a transparent orthography (Finnish) and (b) the cognitive and noncognitive precursors of this phenomenon. Finnish-speaking children (n = 1963) were assessed on reading fluency and spelling in grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. Dissociation groups in reading and spelling were formed based on stable difficulties in grades 1-4. The groups were compared in kindergarten phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, letter knowledge, home literacy environment, and task-avoidant behavior. The results indicated that the double dissociation groups could be identified even in the context of a highly transparent orthography: 41 children were unexpected poor spellers (SD), 36 were unexpected poor readers (RD), and 59 were poor in both reading and spelling (RSD). The RSD group performed poorest on all cognitive skills and showed the most task-avoidant behavior, the RD group performed poorly particularly on rapid automatized naming and letter knowledge, and the SD group had difficulties on phonological awareness and letter knowledge. Fathers' shared book reading was less frequent in the RD and RSD groups than in the other groups. The findings suggest that there are discernible double dissociation groups with distinct cognitive profiles. This further suggests that the identification of difficulties in Finnish and the planning of teaching and remediation practices should include both reading and spelling assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developmental pathways of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs) against HIV are of great importance for the design of immunogens that can elicit protective responses. Here we show the maturation features of the HIV-neutralizing anti-V1V2 VRC26 lineage by simultaneously sequencing the exon together with the downstream intron of VRC26 members. Using the mutational landscapes of both segments and the selection-free nature of the intron region, we identify multiple events of amino acid mutational convergence in the complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) of VRC26 members, and determine potential intermediates with diverse CDR3s to a late stage bNAb from 2 years prior to its isolation. Moreover, we functionally characterize the earliest neutralizing intermediates with critical CDR3 mutations, with some emerging only 14 weeks after initial lineage detection and containing only ~6% V gene mutations. Our results thus underscore the utility of analyzing exons and introns simultaneously for studying antibody maturation and repertoire selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we examined the role of morphological awareness in reading and spelling performance across three languages varying in orthographic consistency (English, French, and Greek), after controlling for the effects of phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming (RAN). One hundred fifty-nine English-speaking Canadian, 238 French-speaking Canadian, and 224 Greek children were assessed at the beginning of Grade 2 on measures of morphological awareness, phonological awareness, and RAN. At the end of Grade 2, they were assessed on reading accuracy, reading fluency, reading comprehension, and spelling to dictation. The results indicated that morphological awareness was a unique predictor of reading comprehension and spelling in all three languages, of reading fluency in English and French, and of reading accuracy in English only. Furthermore, the results of multigroup analyses revealed no significant differences in the contribution of morphological awareness to the literacy outcomes across languages. Theoretical and practical implications of these finding are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calculate, for the first time, three-point correlation functions involving "heavy" operators in the Schrodinger/null-dipole CFT correspondence at strong coupling. In particular, we focus on the three-point functions of the dilaton modes and two "heavy" operators. The heavy states are dual to the single spin and dyonic magnon, the single spin and dyonic spike solutions or to two novel string solutions which do not have an undeformed counterpart. Our results provide the leading term of the correlators in the large λ expansion and are in perfect agreement with the form of the correlator dictated by non-relativistic conformal invariance. We also specify the scaling function which can not be fixed by using conformal invariance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine different hypotheses in relation to RAN deficits in dyslexia. Thirty university students with dyslexia and 32 chronological-age controls were assessed on RAN Digits and Colors as well as on two versions of RAN Letters and Objects (one with five items repeated 16 times and one with 20 items repeated four times). In addition, participants were tested on discrete letter and object naming, phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, and speed of processing, and the RAN Letters and Objects total times were partitioned into pause times and articulation times. Results showed first that the dyslexia group was slower than the control group on all RAN tasks and the differences remained significant after controlling for discrete naming time. Second, both groups were slower in the large item set condition (20 × 4) than in the small set condition (5 × 16). Third, the dyslexia group was slower than the control group in both the pause and the articulation times. Although none of the processing skills was sufficient on its own to eliminate group differences in RAN Letters components, phonological awareness, and orthographic processing were sufficient on their own to eliminate group differences in the RAN Objects pause time. Taken together, our findings suggest that the deficits in RAN are not due to impaired anchoring, but rather due to subtle impairments in lexical access (specific to alphanumeric RAN), serial processing, and articulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of antitumor immune responses is the key to advancing the field of cancer immunotherapy. Endogenous immunity in cancer patients, such as circulating anticancer antibodies or tumor-reactive B cells, has been historically yet incompletely described. Here, we demonstrate that tumor-draining (sentinel) lymph node (SN) is a rich source for tumor-reactive B cells that give rise to systemic IgG anticancer antibodies circulating in the bloodstream of breast cancer patients. Using a synergistic combination of high-throughput B-cell sequencing and quantitative immunoproteomics, we describe the prospective identification of tumor-reactive SN B cells (based on clonal frequency) and also demonstrate an unequivocal link between affinity-matured expanded B-cell clones in the SN and antitumor IgG in the blood. This technology could facilitate the discovery of antitumor antibody therapeutics and conceivably identify novel tumor antigens. Lastly, these findings highlight the unique and specialized niche the SN can fill in the advancement of cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined which of two levels of planning, namely action and operations planning, are involved in Tower of London (TOL). One hundred nine university students (79 females; mean age = 20.81 years) from China were assessed on measures of action planning (Crack the Code), operations planning (Planned Connections, Planned Codes, Matching Numbers), and on TOL. The results of factor analysis showed first that TOL, scored as total number of correct responses, had a split loading on action and operations planning. TOL, scored as first move time, loaded on the same action planning factor represented by Crack the Code first move time. These findings suggest that different TOL scores may capture different levels of planning. The implications of these findings especially for clinical diagnosis and rehabilitation are briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the role of different cognitive skills in word reading (accuracy and fluency) and spelling accuracy in syllabic Hiragana and morphographic Kanji. Japanese Hiragana and Kanji are strikingly contrastive orthographies: Hiragana has consistent character-sound correspondences with a limited symbol set, whereas Kanji has inconsistent character-sound correspondences with a large symbol set. One hundred sixty-nine Japanese children were assessed at the beginning of grade 1 on reading accuracy and fluency, spelling, phonological awareness, phonological memory, rapid automatized naming (RAN), orthographic knowledge, and morphological awareness, and on reading and spelling at the middle of grade 1. The results showed remarkable differences in the cognitive predictors of early reading accuracy and spelling development in Hiragana and Kanji, and somewhat lesser differences in the predictors of fluency development. Phonological awareness was a unique predictor of Hiragana reading accuracy and spelling, but its impact was relatively weak and transient. This finding is in line with those reported in consistent orthographies with contained symbol sets such as Finnish and Greek. In contrast, RAN and morphological awareness were more important predictors of Kanji than of Hiragana, and the patterns of relationships for Kanji were similar to those found in inconsistent orthographies with extensive symbol sets such as Chinese. The findings suggested that Japanese children learning two contrastive orthographic systems develop partially separate cognitive bases rather than a single basis for literacy acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is established that reading fluency is more strongly related to serial naming of symbols than to naming of isolated items ( serial superiority effect), the reason for the difference remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of executive functions in explaining the serial superiority effect. One hundred seven Grade 6 Greek children were assessed on serial and discrete naming (digits, objects, and words), executive (inhibition, shifting, and updating) and non-executive tasks (simple choice reaction), and on a serial Rapid Alternating Stimuli task. Reading fluency correlated more strongly with serial naming than with discrete naming, consistent with the serial superiority effect. In hierarchical regression analyses, executive measures failed to account for variance shared between serial naming and reading fluency. In confirmatory factor analyses, including a discrete and a serial factor for the naming tasks, variance in the executive tasks not shared with simple choice reaction was not associated with the serial factor. Thus, the executive tasks failed to account for the serial superiority effect. The high correlation between the simple choice factor and the discrete naming factor suggests that method variance partially underlies the observed relationship between executive function tasks and word reading. We argue that the distinction between serial and discrete dimensions indicates that internally regulated cognitive control is crucial for the serial superiority in naming symbols and words. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to contrast three models of the RAN-reading relationship derived from the most prominent theoretical accounts of how RAN is related to reading: the phonological processing, the orthographic processing and the speed of processing accounts. Grade 4 Greek-speaking children (n = 208; 114 girls, 94 boys; mean age = 117.29 months) were administered measures of general cognitive ability, RAN, phonological processing, orthographic processing, speed of processing, and reading fluency. Phonological processing and orthographic processing were assessed with both accuracy and speeded measures. Structural equation modeling showed that the most parsimonious model was one in which RAN predicted reading fluency directly and through orthographic processing. Phonological processing did not predict reading fluency and speed of processing was more important for the RAN-orthographic/phonological processing relationships than for the RAN-reading relationship. Taken together, these findings suggest that what is unique to RAN is more important for the prediction of reading fluency than what it shares with either speed of processing, phonological processing, or orthographic processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed study of the Entanglement Entropy for the confining Klebanov-Strassler background coupled to a large number of dynamical flavors in the Veneziano limit. As we vary the number of the massless flavors the behavior of the entropy strongly depends on the way we fix the integration constant of the warp factor, that is related to the glueball scale. In the case of massive flavors, the mass of the flavor branes introduces another scale in the background and the entropy undergoes two first order phase transitions. The competition between the glueball and the quark scales will lead to a critical point where one of the phase transitions degenerates to a second order one. We have calculated the critical exponents and have found that they are independent of the number of flavors and different from the mean field theory expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-throughput immune repertoire sequencing has emerged as a critical step in the understanding of adaptive responses following infection or vaccination or in autoimmunity. However, determination of native antibody variable heavy-light pairs (VH-VL pairs) remains a major challenge, and no technologies exist to adequately interrogate the >1 × 106 B cells in typical specimens. We developed a low-cost, single-cell, emulsion-based technology for sequencing antibody VH-VL repertoires from >2 × 106 B cells per experiment with demonstrated pairing precision >97%. A simple flow-focusing apparatus was used to sequester single B cells into emulsion droplets containing lysis buffer and magnetic beads for mRNA capture; subsequent emulsion RT-PCR generated VH-VL amplicons for next-generation sequencing. Massive VH-VL repertoire analyses of three human donors provided new immunological insights including (i) the identity, frequency and pairing propensity of shared, or 'public', VL genes, (ii) the detection of allelic inclusion (an implicated autoimmune mechanism) in healthy individuals and (iii) the occurrence of antibodies with features, in terms of gene usage and CDR3 length, associated with broadly neutralizing antibodies to rapidly evolving viruses such as HIV-1 and influenza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]